Always There
by Warui-Usagi
Summary: Lucy’s back, but her return is hardly welcome. As the family of Kaede House divide under the pressure of dealing with two girls living in the same body, Kouta slowly comes to the realization that standing by Lucy might also means dying with her as well…
1. Homecoming

**Always There**

**Chapter 1: Homecoming**

* * *

A/N: ** November 9, 2006: **"Always There" has now officially been edited. At the request of a couple of clearly know-it-all reviewers, I have removed my author notes. I would just like to say to both new readers, past and re-readers, that I really, really appreciated all the types of feedback I received. From praise, constructive criticism and near-flames, it was what kept both my muse and inspiration intact. Future comments are also welcomed.

* * *

It was excruciating.

Not only the throbbing pain originating from numerous sections of her body, but just the mere thought of being turned away once she dared to take that one, final step across the threshold caused her to cringe. Against all odds and beliefs, she had returned alive…although just barely. And even though it had been a rather arduous, slow, doubtful and especially reluctant journey, here she was, finally…home. Where _he _lived.

'_Kaede House is your home right?'_

She could only hope he still felt that way.

'_Kouta…'_

Her legs were now fighting to hold her up as her vision began to darken. Somewhere off far in the distance, she could hear the clock she had worked so hard to fix begin to chime, seemingly signaling her presence as Wanta yapped relentlessly at her shadowed form from the other side of the door.

"Oh, do we have visitors? I'll go and see."

The voice was unmistakable, it was _him_.

Suddenly, Lucy felt her heart beating madly against the restraints in her chest despite the fact that she could only be considered scarcely alive. What would he think? Would he want to see her? Would he even recognize her? Her trademark horns that distinguished her from an ordinary human and the only defining feature that would indeed give away her identity in the bloody mess she was in were gone. Not knowing exactly how bad her wounds were, Lucy lifted an incredibly shaky arm and pressed her palm to her head, enticing a loud wince of pain as she did so. Carefully, she removed her hand and when brought back down within her somewhat clouded vision, it was absolutely covered in the tell tale sticky red substance.

"It's working…" Kouta mused in astonishment as the clock continued to sound.

Her eyes clenched shut in anticipation and mainly, absolute terror as she noticed Kouta's dark outline approached the door.

"This soumen is delicious!" The young, pink haired Diclonius was now currently on her fifth bowl, knocking the noodles back so fast that one would think she hadn't eaten in over a month.

"You have to eat slowly Nana, otherwise you could choke," Maiyu informed her ever clueless friend, trying hard to stifle her giggles from seeing the rather hilarious sight of Nana's mouth completely stuffed with noodles as well as having most of her meal currently stuck to her cheeks.

"Oh don't worry about me! I'm fine-"

Nana's head abruptly began throbbing with another well-known heartbeat, causing her eyes to widen in horror as she subsequently began to choke on her food as she struggled to let air into her lungs. Yuka and Maiyu were instantly at their friend's side, trying to ease and console her.

"Didn't Maiyu just finish telling you to eat slower?" Yuka sighed in exasperation as she continued to rub Nana's back in an attempt to silence her choking. But even after she had stopped, the horn-headed girl still stayed curled over on the floor, this time instead clutching her head in agony as she panted and sweated profusely.

'_Sh-she's…b-back…but how?'_

"Nana? What's wrong?" Yuka and Maiyu exclaimed in unison as they crowed around, this time in genuine worry as they waited for some kind of response.

The teenage Diclonius' body jerked upright as Nana removed her hands from her head, as she began to shake, clenching her arms at her sides in a rather pathetic attempt at self soothing.

"S-she's…h-here," she forced out through a tight throat. "Sh-she's b-back."

Her adoptive mother and best friend only furrowed their eyebrows in confusion, not understanding exactly what it was that she was trying to say.

'_She's supposed to be dead!'_

"Who's back?" Yuka questioned the trembling girl softly, while placing a supportive hand on her shoulder.

"I-It's her. L-Lucy."

Maiyu and Yuka only gasped at Nana's revelation, a million questions passing through their minds, the main one of course being…

"How is she alive? It doesn't make any sense!" Nana screamed at the top of her lungs, both because she didn't want it to be true and also, she just wanted the pain to end.

'_What if she comes after me…?'_

"A-are y-you sure?" Yuka felt quite uneasy all of a sudden. In a way, she was glad that Nyuu was back…she really did like her, but…with the declaration of her return, she felt the all too familiar feelings of jealousy and envy resurface once again along with another feeling that had just recently come about. Hate. She hated her for just existing sometimes, whenever she was around, Yuka felt like Kouta worried about Nyuu and nothing else. She was resentful of Nyuu for having won Kouta's affections so easily. At one stage she thought that she had secured Kouta's love when they had both shared a wonderful kiss at the shrine in the rain…

'_At least this is a little warmer right?'_

'_But my skirt, I'm getting mud all over your pants.'_

'_I'll get a little muddy, so what?'_

Obviously though, Kouta had never really reciprocated. He apparently never would.

She felt so foolish. She had thrown away her dreams and left her family in order to come and live with him…she had given up everything she once knew for a chance to be with the one person she had loved since she was little and would never be acknowledged for her sacrifice. Yuka felt her fists clench together in her lap as she watched Nana shake helplessly at her unseen enemy, tears threatening to spill from her eyes as memories about her beloved cousin and Nyuu together began involuntary began forcing themselves into her mind.

'_Kouta…cuddle…cuddle…Kouta.'_

'_Kouta…you're so nice…you're so nice…Kouta!'_

'_Kanae forgives! Forgives Kouta! Forgives!'_

'_I like you too, Nyuu…'_

"Kouta…you're such a jerk!" Yuka slowly opened her eyes, mentally kicking herself as she realized she had just said her last thought aloud. Maiyu was just staring at her, either in complete shock or legitimate bewilderment. Even Nana, although she was still shaking and panting, couldn't help but glare at her perplexed as well. Yuka quickly waved her arm in the air, as if dismissing what she had just said as harmless and rose to her feet quickly.

"I-ummm…I'm just going to check on Kouta," with that, she quickly ran down the steps and slipped into her sandals, her cheeks flushing a deep crimson color as she fumbled with the straps, trying to get them on her feet. She stopped suddenly when she caught a glimpse of what was happening at the door…

He opened the gate slowly and before Kouta even had the time to think, a mysterious figure collapsed into Kouta's arms, absolutely covered in blood and random debris.

"Oh my god!" Was all Kouta could say in panic as he tried to examine the now seemingly lifeless _thing_ in his arms. Unexpectedly, while taking a closer look at _its_ head, he came across two protruding, jagged, white lumps of bone and all of a sudden…everything clicked, he felt his heart instantly jump into his throat.

"N-Nyuu?"

In response, Lucy tried to say something…anything that would let him know that it was indeed her, but the only thing that came out, which was hardly even audible, was a small groan.

"Oh my god," Kouta muttered once again. Everything that had just happened within the last three seconds was just too much for him to process all at once…he couldn't believe it was her, but how…?

'_Worry about that later…right no she needs help!'_

"Y-Yuka!" Came his unsteady voice from at the door, but all she could do was stand there staring in utter disgust the _thing_ currently sprawled carelessly in Kouta's arms…she couldn't move.

"YUKA!" Kouta called again, this time with quite a bit of desperation in his voice. It was enough to snap her out of her trace and although she had to force her legs to move, she did…the whole time she kept her eyes glued on _it_, never shifting her gaze away for a second. When her cousin finally came within earshot she decided to call out, rather then risk getting any closer.

"W-what's wrong?" She whispered, unable to keep a slight quiver out of her voice. "W-what is that…thing?" Yuka hurriedly covered her nose in an attempt to block out the absolute putrid smell wafting from it; even from a safe distance away the smell was unbearable. She studied Kouta's face cautiously and was astonished and a little miffed to find Kouta…crying.

"I-it's Nyuu, she's…been badly injured…we have to help her!"

At hearing that was Nyuu, Yuka was both excited and disappointed at the same time. Of course she wanted to help Nyuu in any way she possibly could and she did miss having the young, innocent and energetic girl around, but at the same time, she realized that everything would just go back to the way it was before…Kouta laughing with and playing with Nyuu, while she was forced to watch in the background. She could see it…he really did love her and yet, she couldn't for the life of her admit it to herself…maybe because she was still holding on, hoping that Kouta despite what she may have heard, still might care.

"Okay, well…we had better…uhhh…get her inside," Yuka suggested quickly. "But before we do, I think I had better tell Maiyu to take Nana into another room so she doesn't see…it'll most likely upset them both." She turned back towards the house, about to run to the dinning area where the youngest members of the house were currently sitting when she heard a strange voice from behind.

"K-Kou…Kouta…"

It was Nyuu.

Kouta held her closely as he mumbled words of encouragement and reassurance to the horrid looking girl. "It's okay Nyuu, you'll be better soon…don't worry I won't leave you."

Instantly, Yuka's rage began bubbling furiously to the surface.

'_Hey Kouta? If I went away, would you cry for me, like you did for Nyuu…?'_

'_Do you even care about me at all?'_

"I'm right here you know! The least you could do is wait until I'm gone before you start declaring your love for her!" Tears were brimming at the corners of her eyes as she struggled to withhold her emotions. All Kouta could do was look on at her in astonishment.

'_Now is not the time Yuka…'_

'_But still…'_

"Yuka I-" he tried.

"I don't want to hear it Kouta," she interrupted. "I'm going to get Maiyu and Nana to go out the back for awhile…when I give you the signal you head down the hall to the bathroom, okay? We'll fix her wounds up there." Without another word from either one of them, Yuka started back towards the house as she silently let the tears fall…

'_Kouta, your such a jerk!'_


	2. Green Eyed

**Always There**

**Chapter 2: Green Eyed**

"Maiyu! Nana!" Yuka called from the front yard. Nana of course, didn't seem like she heard it as she continued to tremor helplessly huddled on the floor. Maiyu shifted her gaze from her friend for only an instant to meet her adoptive mother on the steps.

"Y-yes?"

"I need you and Nana to go and feed Wanta for awhile…I'm sure he'd love it if you played with him as well." Yuka tried to keep her voice steady, but the panic and anxiety laced within her words was all too evident. Maiyu, being quite sensitive when it came to other people's feelings, picked up on it and immediately enquired.

"W-why? What's going on?" She asked nervously.

"I-it's nothing for you to be worried about…_lover boy_ and I just have a little problem that's all. Go on." Maiyu stood there unmoving for a moment, noticing the quite obvious hint of spite in what she had just said. She knew better then to argue with Yuka…even though she cared for the women, she never took her words too idly. The young university student had a ferocious temper when provoked, as she had seen many times in her fights with Kouta…this was clearly another one of those times.

Running back to friends side, Maiyu quickly helped the timid Diclonius to her feet and eased her through the back door as Yuka stood near the table tapping her foot impatiently, keeping an eye on whatever it was that was going on outside. Curious, Maiyu stopped momentarily and attempted to catch a glimpse of what was happening over her shoulder, only to be pressed by Yuka once more.

"Come on you two, I'm sure Wanta's hungry." This time, she sounded even more annoyed. Cringing, Maiyu forced her gaze to back in front of her as she hesitantly stepped outside while supporting Nana on her shoulder. As she set pick haired girl down on the grass and turned back toward the house, Yuka handed her the dog food and a couple of his toys.

"Here you go, now have fun you two and I'll call you in a little while okay?"

But before Maiyu could respond, she had closed the door.

Frowning, she returned her attention to Nana and decided for the time being to just forget about what was happening and to try and cheer her best friend up. She had calmed down a little…the young Diclonius' tremors had decreased and although her breath was still a little fast paced, she wasn't taking ragged gasps of air like she was only a few moments ago.

"Hey Nana…do you want to feed Wanta? It's kinda your job after all," she said reassuringly as she placed a caring hand on her shoulder. "Then afterwards you can play fetch with him!" Nana turned towards her friend and gave a small smile.

"Okay…"

'_Why is she back…?'_

* * *

"Okay Kouta, you can come in now!" Yuka called from the steps. Carefully cradling the precious cargo in his arms, Kouta gradually rose to his feet, keeping his eyes locked on Lucy's limp, fragile body as he edged his was slowly towards the house, being cautious so as to not make any sudden moves that might cause her pain.

Yuka watched with dread from the stairs as Kouta sauntered his way up the path, never for an instant removing his vision from mess piled in his arms.

'_Look at her…she's a mess and he still can't take his eyes off her. Just once I wish he'd look at me like that…'_

'_What is it that she has that I don't? She can't even speak properly for god's sake! I've known Kouta nearly my whole life and she just shows up out of nowhere-'_

"Yuka?"

"Huh?" She looked up to find her cousin standing in front of her, staring, with a worried look plastered on his face…she suddenly felt her cheeks begin to burn and her spirits lift. Was he…_concerned _about her for once?

"I'm okay Kou-"

"Excuse me."

'_What?'_

"I've got to get Nyuu down to the bathroom so I can start cleaning her up." With that, he continued down the hall, never once even giving Yuka a second glance…leaving her alone, stunned and broken hearted.

Not bothering to take off her clothes, Kouta gently set Lucy down in the basin, peeling her off his now blood stained shirt as he turned on the faucets carefully, making sure the water was warm. Gradually the tub began to fill up, the water dying a deep shade of scarlet as it accumulated around her body. It was then that Lucy began to stir, wincing with the effort, the water obviously stinging the numerous gashes and injuries plaguing her pastel skin. She managed to force her eyes open, only to be welcomed by an incredibly blurred world in which she could make nothing out.

"Kou…K…Kouta…" she whimpered, she had realized that she wasn't in his arms anymore and despite the warm liquid around her, she still felt quite chilled.

"Nyuu! It's okay, don't worry I'm right here. I promise you I'm not going anywhere." He whispered comfortingly from his side next to the bathtub. "I'm going to get you fixed up right away just wait and see."

He stood up swiftly searching through the numerous cupboards and shelves looking for what he needed, "aha!" he exclaimed in triumph as his hand came to rest on a bottle of disinfectant. Cautiously he removed the lid and poured a rather large amount into a small bowl.

"It looks like your horns are the only things still bleeding, so we had better stop that before it gets any worse." He then held up a light, mauve colored piece of silk to her face before placing it in the bowl, soaking it in the disinfectant.

"Remember this?" he quizzed her warmheartedly, Lucy once again tried to focus on her surroundings, but just like before it was a fruitless attempt. So instead, allowing her eyes to flutter closed; she waited patiently for Kouta to continue. "I knew that this was your favorite ribbon…so I kept it safe just in case…in case you ever came back for it." Lucy began to feel her cheeks burn once again…but they always did around Kouta. He was so caring…even after all the pain she had caused him…

"Okay now this may hurt a little but I promise it'll make it better." Kouta removed the ribbon from the disinfectant and turned his attention toward the cherry haired girl slumped upright in the basin. Slowly reaching over, he began applying the damp material around the lumps of bone that were once her 'awesome' horns, or so he had thought when he was younger, stopping the crimson liquid from escaping from the open slits in her head. That's when he had remembered what Nyuu had said about her horns when they were just kids, what had seemed like eons ago…

'_I'm sure that you think my horns are disgusting don't you?'_

'_You have no idea how much trouble these horns have cost me!'_

"Hey, at least your horns won't give you any trouble now, right?" He assured her fondly. Once again all Lucy could do was smile slightly, feeling a blush form on her cheeks as she continued to enjoy the fact that he was in such close proximity. "There we go all done!" He stated as he moved back slightly to admire his work.

"You look just as cute as before!" He beamed, a genuine smile adorning his features. "Now let's get the rest of you fixed up shall we?" And with that one last comment, he went to work on the rest of her body, examining and treating her smaller wounds, removing all of the dirt, debris and dried blood until finally he was…

"Done! Now you just wait here for a moment while I go and find Yuka so she can get you changed into some nice clean clothes okay? She's really worried about you too."

'_Stupid girl…' _Lucy mentally scolded. _'You're just lucky that Kouta's here to protect you…'_

Kouta started off down the hall in search of his cousin. He didn't like the idea of leaving Nyuu alone in a tub full of water for to long, especially when considering the condition she was in.

"Yuka!" Quickly but efficiently he began scanning every room in the house for her presence, his apprehension increasing with everyone he deemed empty. Eventually though, he let out a sigh of relief when he came upon the young women sitting at the dinning table.

"There you are! Didn't you here me calling for you?" Kouta waited a few seconds for a response, but when he received none he continued anyway. "Oh well…hey listen, could you help Nyuu get changed into-"

"Nyuu, Nyuu, Nyuu! That's all ever you talk about!" She snapped, abruptly jumping to her feet and meeting his dumfounded gaze with her heated expression, fresh tears streaming down her face. "It's always Nyuu this and Nyuu that…what about me? Do you even know that I exist? Or am I just some useful outlet for your physical needs?"

Kouta had definitely not seen _that _coming…

"W-what an earth are you talking about Yuka?" He asked her, genuinely perplexed as to why she was so upset.

Yuka turned her gaze away from his, her voice but a mere whisper as she spoke.

"That afternoon at the shrine…when we were taking cover from the rain and…and…we kissed. Did…did that mean anything to you? Or was I just being foolish in actually believing that you loved me?"

'_So that's it…'_

"Yuka I-"

"Well do you?" She interrupted harshly.

"Do I what?" He countered, annoyed. '_Nyuu's got to get out of that bath soon before…'_

"**_Love_** me?" She met his irritated gaze; looking for any signs of sympathy and concern…she found none. _'So then, he doesn't care…?'_

Kouta let out a harsh sigh of pent up frustration; he couldn't focus on this conversation while Nyuu was still in need of help.

He growled. "Just drop it Yuka! You're being overly jealous for no reason!"

"Oh am I?" She spat.

"**Yes! **Now is not the time to be fighting, Nyuu is in need of serious attention! Can't we just…talk about this later?" He wasn't just concerned about Nyuu; he also had no idea on how to respond to Yuka's outburst of emotion. She was right…he _had _kissed her, back when they had only just met the ruby eyed Diclonius a few weeks before and back then; he had also probably meant it as well. But after finding out who she really was, the 'cool horned' girl he had taken to the zoo and sat with during a storm…the 'cool horned' girl he adored…as well as the ever innocent and unbelievably naïve Nyuu…he really meant what he said to her, no, to _them _that night before they went to face they're fate.

'_You…that poor lonely girl I met in the woods…and Nyuu too…I love them.'_

"Kouta…You're such a jerk! Just stay away from me!" With one swift, fluent movement of her wrist, she slapped him hard across the cheek and ran from the room, sobbing desperately into her hands while leaving Kouta dazed in her wake.

'_Why do I always get so jealous…?'_


	3. Grudges

**Always There **

**Chapter 3: Grudges**

Yuka stopped short of the bathroom, taking a moment to try and calm herself down. Although she was upset and angry, she couldn't risk alerting Nyuu or even Maiyu and Nana for that matter to the fact that her and Kouta were fighting. The last thing she wanted to do was to destroy the happy, carefree and most of all _peaceful _household they had spent so long on contriving. With a few deep breaths and a quick brushing across the cheeks to eliminate any rogue tears still present, she strode confidently into the bathroom, a smile plastered across her lips, ready to help Nyuu change.

The unexpected arrival of someone in the room caused Lucy to jolt up in awareness as she tried to scan the room, frantically searching for the identity of the intruder through her limited vision capabilities. Upon noticing her uneasy movements, Yuka sought to calm her down.

"Don't worry Nyuu, it's just me…I'm here to help you change. Then afterwards we'll get you straight off to bed." Slowly she made her way over towards the tub ready to hoist her out of the contaminated water when all of a sudden; Lucy slapped her arms away and began struggling to get to her feet…without Yuka's assistance. Obviously her words had the exact opposite effect on her.

'_I don't need **your **help…'_

"Oh my goodness, Nyuu! You have to stop before you hurt yourself! You have to let me help you! You're too weak to-"

"Watch me," Lucy interrupted callously.

She stood there watching in astonishment as Lucy began to stand shakily in the water, her body hunched over as she forced her herself to take a step, stumbling over in the process, only to be caught by the one person she was trying to get away from.

"You're so stubborn; you've got to take it easy! Now lets get you dried off and-" The young women was cut short when Lucy once again coldly shrugged off her supportive embrace and began stumbling towards the door and out into the hallway, crashing into the shutters on the other side…another failed attempt.

"What an earth has gotten into you?" Yuka chased after her, running to her side as she slumped down against the smooth mahogany frame. There was no point denying it, Lucy was just too weak to keep her grudge at the moment. As much as she didn't want to admit it, she really did need the help. Gritting her teeth in bitter defeat, she allowed Yuka to pick her up and carry her into her bedroom…she desperately need the rest after all and besides, she could deal with the _girl _later…

'I won't forgive you…ever…you're just like the rest of them…'

* * *

"I wonder how long Yuka wants us to stay out here," Maiyu had decided that it was probably best to stay away from both Yuka and the house for the time being, both because her adoptive parents were fighting and the fact that the _'thing'_ that was making Nana uneasy seemed to be in the local vicinity. So she, Nana and Wanta had gone on a walk. The stroll had been quite uneventful…neither of them speaking much except maybe for the odd comment on something they saw as they passed by, the young Diclonius had been insanely focused on whatever it was that she could sense. Maiyu, noticing her friend's intense expression instantly began to worry.

"Is it really bothering you that much?"

"She's getting stronger…" she replied seemingly in a daze, her voice uncharacteristically serious as she continued to stare out blankly in front of her.

'_What if she managers to attack Kouta and Yuka…? We won't have a home anymore…'_

"R-really? Who's 'she'?"

But Nana refusing to elaborate ignored her.

"I've got a bad feeling about all this…I think we should go home now Maiyu." The young brunette nodded hesitantly. She wasn't exactly sure if they would be wanted back home just yet. But still, she couldn't help but agree with Nana, she was right…something was very weird about the whole thing. And now, she was beginning to think that somehow, Yuka's strange behavior was indeed connected with what Nana was feeling. It was a very plausible scenario.

"O-okay…"

* * *

"Yuka…"

'_Great…now what have I done?'_

"Dammit!"

Kouta abruptly slammed his fists painfully against the hard wood of the table as he vented his frustration and confusion, enticing a loud wince as he did so. "Why is it…that I only ever seem to bring pain to the ones I love…?"

Slowly, he lent into the wall as the wheels and cogs began turning in his mind. There was no doubt about it, he loved Nyuu and her uncanny ability to make him laugh no matter what the circumstances…but Yuka…what was she to him? More then anything, especially lately, she had been more of a mother. Telling him to get up and get dressed before they missed school, scolding him whenever he did something wrong, fixing his injuries when he hurt himself…he really did care for Yuka, but he was positive that was all. When they were kids, there was no doubting that he did indeed enjoy his cousins company, but after meeting the seemingly lonely and mysterious girl with horns, she was all he ever thought about, even back then. Kouta had known for sometime that Yuka had harbored feelings for him, but because he knew that he would never or rather, could never reciprocate he instead decided to feign ignorance in hopes that they would eventually die away. Apparently though, his pretending to be naïve of her emotions was causing her much pain and grief, not to mention making her overly jealous of everybody around him…

That was it…he was going to have to tell her. But the question was how…? She would be very displeased no matter which way he put it…and he was sure to be hurt for it too. Kouta cringed as images of every time Yuka had slapped or punched him flashed before his eyes.

'_Why me?'_

* * *

"Okay, now lift your arms up for me."

This was torture.

This was the absolute last thing Lucy wanted to be doing at the moment…especially considering Yuka was the enemy. Perhaps the only thing that was keeping her sane presently was that eventually, sleep would claim her and she would be off dreaming of all the ways in which she could make Yuka pay for what she had done to her in the past. Unfortunately she had neither the strength nor the capability to summon her vectors and so for the time being, she would just have to endure. Waiting and watching for the opportune moment to arrive…

"There you go, all done! Now I'm going to leave you sleep for awhile okay? I'll come and wake you up for dinner later." Lucy simply growled towards the door as her presence dissipated from the room, mumbling incoherently under her breath as she gradually slid under the covers. Slowly, her eyes fluttered closed as she subdued to the darkness, allowing it to engulf her vision until she could see nothing more then the eternal blackness in front of her, extracts of memories ruthlessly bombarding her exhausted state of mind…

'_You killed her!'_

'_You'll pay!'_

'_She'll be alright, just turn yourself in.'_

'_Look there's that girl with the horns!'_

'_She's getting away, chase after her!'_

'_You're a freak!'_

'_I'm sorry Lucy…' _

'_If they hadn't found me, you would still be alive. If **she **hadn't interfered you'd still be with me…'_

'_You stay away from Kouta from now on you hear me? He's mine!'_

"Nyuu, dinner's ready!"

'_She tried to hurt me!'_

"Nyuu, are you in there?"

'_Kouta…do I deserve this? You never thought so…so why?'_

"Nyuu hey, wake up!"

'_Why…? Am I really that worthless to people?'_

"Nyuu!"

'_They did this to her…she's dead because of her!'_

"Nyuu! You have to wake up NOW!"

"Ah!" Abruptly, the young girl flung herself upright, panting and dripping in a cold sweat. "Hey are you okay? You don't look so good. I think you must have been having a bad dream or-" Kouta was suddenly cut short as she flung herself at him, engulfing him in a desperate embrace as she bawled her eyes out, tears cascading down her cheeks.

"Kouta…why? Why?" The adolescent Diclonius managed to choke out in-between gasps, tightening her grip on his shirt. Kouta gently pried her off him in order to face her.

"Hey, calm down now, it's okay…you just had a nightmare that's all. Now come and have dinner with us okay?" Nyuu's expression immediately brightened as she was helped to her feet. He giggled lightly too, amused as to how easy it was to please her. Clutching onto Kouta's arm as if it were a matter of life and death, he began escorting her out towards the dinner table to only receive a reaction he was certainly not expecting…he had forgotten temporarily about Nana and Maiyu.

"I knew it!" Nana exclaimed jumping to her feet, "so it **was** you Lucy!"

"Oh wow, I can't believe Nyuu's back-" Maiyu stopped short as what Nana had said seconds before suddenly sank in.

"Lucy?" Maiyu, Yuka and Kouta questioned in unison, turning to face the young girl currently molded to Kouta's right arm. Of course they received no help from the girl in question as she met there puzzled and curious glances with the same old clueless look adorning her innocent features. That was when Kouta remembered…there _were two_ of them! Lucy was the lonely little girl he had played with when they were young…the girl who had killed his father and younger sister. And Nyuu was the sweet, thoughtful and clumsy girl they found washed up on the beach…two completely different personalities both in the same body.

_That_ was one small detail that both Yuka and Maiyu didn't know yet…and he planned to keep it that way…for now at least. The peaceful household they had was fragile enough as it was and to spill that one little revelation was sure to have more of a negative affect rather then a positive one. It surely would throw their entire household into chaos…

Unfortunately though, unbeknownst to everyone, things were already slowly beginning to peel away at the seams…it was only a matter of time now.


	4. Confrontation

**Always There**

**Chapter 4: Confrontation**

At that particular moment, you could have heard a pin drop.

Everybody went about eating their soumen quietly, all the while managing to maintain the awkward silence slowly filling the room. Maiyu scanned her misfit family nervously, taking quick notes about everyone's current behavior. Nana was too engrossed in her food to really pay much attention, although she did every once and awhile glance over towards Nyuu just to make sure that she didn't spontaneously transform into her depressive and murderous split persona. Nyuu was completely oblivious to the source of the tension also, as she struggled with the slippery noodles on her chopsticks, trying desperately hard to get _something _in her mouth.

Maiyu's eyes then slowly came to rest on the two cousins, Yuka sending death glances towards her male counterpart from across the table, while Kouta was doing all he possibly could to avoid her threatening stare. Maiyu seriously thought at that moment, she could run into the kitchen, grab a knife and cut the negative aurora passing between them right down the centre it was so thick. Frankly, it was downright scary. She had seen them fight, but they usually somehow always managed to get over it. In all honesty, she had never seen Yuka this upset before and it was, in truth, absolutely frightening.

She wished she could help; there was nothing she wanted more then to be able to even just reassure the both of them that it would pass. But this had gone on all day. Both she and Nana had arrived home from their extremely long walk with Wanta exhausted, looking forward to a relaxing bath before dinner. As soon as they opened the door however, they immediately regretted even ever stepping into the house. She had been greeted by a sulking Kouta sitting slumped over in the dining room, followed by a fuming Yuka in the kitchen mumbling constantly under her breath, venting her anger on the meat and vegetables she was cutting up.

Maiyu hoped that it would all be over by morning…and there was only one way to find out.

Shoving the rest of her food as quickly as possible into her mouth without choking, she abruptly jumped to her feet. "Well, I'm tired so I'm off to bed now! Goodnight everyone," she announced as she bowed politely, breaking the all too uncomfortable silence before heading to open the shutter to her room.

Both Kouta and Yuka, glad for the distraction, naturally cheered up instantly to wish the young girl well, "goodnight Maiyu, sweet dreams."

"Yeah goodnight," Kouta called out after the young brunette as she closed her door.

Turning his gaze to back in front of him, by complete accident, for the first time in hours, they made eye contact.

And this time, Kouta noticed more longing, need and loneliness rather then anger…and he knew all too well why. He tried to show her that he was truly sorry by transpiring it through his gaze, but was distracted when a loud _'thunk'_ came from up the other end of the table. It was Nana. She had probably just finished her tenth bowl of food and had slammed in down on the table in triumph, sighing in satisfaction as she did so.

"Well, I'm just as tired as Maiyu, but I think I'll go for a bath first." Rising gradually from her place and stretching before she moved, the pink haired Diclonius began towards the bathroom only to be halted by someone's grasp.

"Listen Nana, I was wondering if you wouldn't mind Nyuu joining you for a bath?" Yuka finally had the opportunity to get Kouta by himself and she was going to use it. Matching Yuka's pleading stare, she found herself at a loss for what to do. She had no problem bathing with Nyuu, it was Lucy she was afraid of, and going off alone would be giving her the perfect opportunity for the red haired girl to extract her revenge. Nana knew all too well that she had no hope of beating Lucy in combat…if they did end up fighting, she wouldn't stand a chance.

Kouta now knew the whole story now between Nana and Lucy, Nana had it explained it to him once while they stayed up together talking a few nights ago. Not really wanting to face Yuka's wrath but also seeing the necessity in doing so, he tried his best to calm the girl's nerves by reassuring her as much as possible.

"It's okay Nana; Nyuu won't hurt you…will you?" He asked turning to the girl in question. She just smiled and nodded. Kouta returned his gaze to its original position and grinned, "See? You'll be fine."

"But…but," she tried to argue back, "you know it's not Nyuu I'm scared of." Nana stared at him, her expression a mixture of both absolute terror and desperation.

"What on earth are you talking about?" Yuka butted in, but Kouta just ignored her.

"Don't worry, **_she_** won't hurt you either," he said firmly, keeping his eyes glued on Nana. "I give you my word."

Not wanting to cause a fuss, although incredibly shaken by the idea, she hesitantly agreed. "O-okay…"

"Go on Nyuu," Kouta encouraged, ushering her towards the door, "go take a bath with Nana okay? And be nice."

Jumping up from the table in excitement, Nyuu ran to the other side of the room, grabbed Nana by hand and ran down the hall towards the bath ecstatic at the chance to play with someone in the water.

"Wow I don't think I've ever seen someone that excited about taking a bath before," Kouta stated lamely.

Completely overlooking his recent statement, Yuka persisted to change the topic.

"So," she started, maintaining her downcast gaze. "More secrets are revealed in the world of Kouta are they? Secrets which of course I know nothing about…"

"Believe me…you wouldn't understand even if I explained it to you. I sometimes even have trouble," he countered trying to reassure her, "so there's no point in worrying about it."

"But I _want _to worry Kouta!" She screamed passionately, throwing her hands down hard on the table to prove her point. "Why won't you let me worry? Haven't I explained that enough already? Don't you understand?"

He looked towards her pleading expression, at a loss for what to say next.

"Yuka, please understand…it's not that I don't want to tell you, it's just that I _can't_ tell you. He explained calmly, but this only infuriated his cousin even more.

"WHY NOT?"

"Because nobody should have to see that kind of world…and the people who have a glance, inevitably end up getting dragged in…with no escape." He replied distantly, cringing as he thought about what both Nana and Nyuu must have endured during their time in the 'special facility'…he could only imagine. That was yet another detail Nana had filled him in on, life as a test subject, chained against a wall and having random heavy objects thrown mercilessly one after the other until eventually the pain was so strong, it knocked them unconscious. He had been unfortunate enough though to be dragged into that world of darkness and pain by Lucy when they were young and he never wanted it to touch his family. Burying the past was indeed the best option at the moment.

Stop talking in riddles! Yuka demanded, "You're treating me like I'm worthless and I'm sick of it!"

"I'm not! I've known Luc-…I mean, uhh…Nyuu since we were kids…she was so lonely and-"

"You knew her when we were kids? How?" She interrupted. Yuka's voice was but a mere whisper, but at Kouta's revelation, it was suddenly filled with hurt, surprise and mainly…hate.

"Why? How?" She repeated, absolutely furious and dumfounded at the same time. "Was I not good enough for you?"

"No, no, no you have it all wrong! I met her by complete coincidence when I snuck out of the house to do my sketching." He retorted. He panicked, afraid that Yuka was once again going to either slap or punch him.

"S-so you remember then?" She questioned, her tone morphing into a soft and curious one.

"Remember what?"

"Everything," Yuka stated hopefully. "So you got your memory back then?" _'I may still have a chance…'_

"Uh yeah," he replied unsteadily. "They just ummm…returned to me one night while I was sleeping," he lied.

'_That's another detail you don't want to know.'_

"Wow that's unbelievable! It must have taken something miraculous for that to happen," she exclaimed excitedly, obviously completely forgetting about their fighting in an instant.

"I wouldn't exactly have called it miraculous," he said, laughing nervously. _'More like horrific…'_

"What did you say?"

"Oh me? Uh nothing…" he lied again.

"Hey Kouta?" Yuka asked shakily. "So…do you remember the festival we went to as kids?"

"Yeah why?" he asked, completely oblivious as to where the conversation was headed.

"Do…do you remember the promise you made to me?"

"Promise?" Kouta repeated. If only he could remember…

_People were trudging past the stall in an endless line, one behind the other…almost marching in time with everyone else._

"_Oh no, it cracked!"_

"_Oh wow! You really suck at this!" Kouta stated very matter-of-factly._

"_Yeah, let me see you do it!" Yuka snapped back._

"_Okay."_

_Slowly the young boy began edging the pin slowly around the picture, gradually cutting as its form slowly came into view._

"_There I'm finished!" He stated confidently. True to his word, the shape of the animal turned out to be a simply carved cat…without any cracks whatsoever._

"_Wow…it's so good! It's perfect!" _

"_Yeah big deal, anybody could do it." Kouta said, obviously impressed with himself. With new found enthusiasm, Yuka started another one readily believing that this time, she'd get it right…to no avail._

"_Oh, it cracked again!" This was getting to be very frustrating._

"_You're such a spaz!" Her cousin tormented, "get it right once and I'll do whatever you tell me." Kouta promised, honestly believing that she would never accomplish her goal._

"_Don't act like you're so cool!" She said, poking his cheek lightly. "Just you wait, next time you see me I'll be able to do it without a problem then you'll be sorry!"_

"_Well keep practicing and I guess we'll see what happens," he encouraged her, smiling to himself as he observed the look of fierce determination on her face._

"_And when I get it, you'd better believe that I'll make you do whatever I say, I'm serious!" She declared loudly._

"_Don't worry, I'll remember!"_

"Uh, hey yeah I do! What about it?" He asked, genuinely perplexed as to what this had to do with anything.

"Ummm…well…" She turned away out of timidity, her cheeks flushing madly with embarrassment.

'_Oh…I don't like where this is going…'_

"Nyuu wait!" Nana called from the bath as the hyper Diclonius ran from the room completely soaked and covered in nothing more then a towel. But of course, she wasn't listening. Her one and only brain cell _insanely_ focused on finding Kouta as quickly as possible.

"Kouta! Kouta! Kouta!" She chanted happily, jumping from one room to the next, running as fast as she could. Nana was struggling to keep up with her…she wasn't as fast on her feat, another attribute in which Lucy also had an advantage and so obviously Nyuu shared in that trait as well. Finally after frantically searching for her, Nana spotted her around a corner sprinting across the wooden floor.

"Nyuu you can't run otherwise you'll…"

_**SLIP**_

_**BANG**_

"Fall," she finished hopelessly…too late. Letting out an exasperated sigh, Nana walked towards her, getting ready to help her up. "Hey Nyuu are you-" "AAAAH!" Nana suddenly collapsed to the floor, crying in agony as her head throbbed in tremendous pain. The pain was all too familiar. It only came about when… "Lucy!"

"Hello," she spoke in her usual emotionless voice, her face depicting exactly the same thing.

"Wh…what do you want?"

"To live a peaceful existence without inference…from _anyone_."

"Where's Kouta?" She asked, this time in a much harsher tone.

"Why should I tell you? What are you going to do to him?" Nana challenged her.

"Fine, don't help. I'll find him myself."

"_I think I know what I want you to do…"_

"_Oh really?" Kouta asked, once again skeptical._

Lucy pulled up beside the door where she had heard people talking…Kouta was definitely in there…along with someone else as well. She gritted her teeth and clenched her fits in frustration as she realized who it was…it was _her…again. _But she couldn't kill Yuka; she had promised herself that she wouldn't hurt anymore people. She **had** to give up killing. Kouta was her final shot at finally living the life she had always wanted…no, she wouldn't touch Yuka…

"Kouta…" Yuka mumbled, shifting closer and closer. At the sound of someone's voice, Lucy looked up through the crack in the door where it hadn't been completely closed, watching attentively for any plausible excuse for her to back out on her promise.

'_It…it was because of you…because of you Natsume is dead!' _She thought silently, eyeing the women in massive displeasure.

"I love you Kouta! I love you so much!" It was then, in only a second, Yuka suddenly dived for a very surprised Kouta's lips and as they connected, Lucy felt her last wall of restraint shatter into thousands of tiny pieces. It was gone.

That was it…she couldn't hold back her anger any longer…even if she tried.

With strength she didn't know she even had, Lucy sent her four vectors surging through the wooden shutters, smashing them in the process as her invisible arms closed in on her target. She may not be able to kill her, but there was nothing preventing her from teaching the _'stupid girl' _a lesson…a warning…she would pay for the pain she had caused this Diclonius.

"You…you killed her! She was my only friend and you killed her!"

As one of her groping see-through arms came into contact with Yuka's sweater, she lifted her roughly by the collar before slamming her violently against a wall, holding her there as she struggled weakly against her grasp.

"N-Nyuu…wh…what a-are you doing?" The young university student managed to choke out through a relatively closed off throat…her vision going incredibly hazy.

Kouta, having been in somewhat of dace for the past thirty seconds as everything happened, finally managed to snap out of it.

_I-is that Lucy? It has to be, Nyuu wouldn't dare hurt Yuka…'_

"Lucy stop it!" Kouta screamed.

"No, b-because of her…Natsume is dead! It's all her fault and she'll pay for it!"

Desperately trying to find a solution, Kouta did the only thing he could think of. Running up to the infuriated girl he closed his arms around her torso, engulfing her in a frantic embrace, naturally causing her to blush. "Please stop…" he whispered this time but in a more pleading tone. "I know that…I know that your past is full of horrors that I can't even begin to fathom, but…" He took a breath before continuing. "If you want to be able to get over your suffering, you can't keep doing this, it only makes things worse."

Of course he could never imagine what she had been through…she suffered in experiments that were worse then torture, chained there against their will. But it wasn't only the scientists who had caused her grief. Naturally because of her physical abnormality, she also had to endure bulling and teasing from kids when she was younger. A boy named Toboe had even gone as far as murdering her dog…her only companion. And so far she had successfully sought revenge on every single person that had caused her pain. She had wanted this time to be no exception…but to this person in particular, she just couldn't say no.

'_The things I'll do for Kouta…'_

Regrettably releasing Yuka from her grasp, Lucy recalled her vectors, letting her drop to the ground…alive.

'_Don't think you're getting off so easily…' _Although Kouta had saved her this time…he couldn't protect her forever.

It was declared…now, it was war.

Now, things were definitely falling apart…and it wasn't long before everything would collapse, trapping everyone inside.


	5. Cleaning Up Confusion

**Always There: Chapter 5**

**Cleaning Up Confusion**

Kouta simply stood glued to the spot, shaking as he held the hornless girl in a rigid embrace. He felt like he was in a dream…a very bad dream in fact, unable to comprehend the events that had just taken place. Everything was spinning and it wouldn't stop…he didn't know why…

"You can let me go now," Lucy whispered coldly. As much as she was enjoying the simplicity in they're contact, she knew she was there in Kouta's arms for all the wrong reasons. He had latched onto her not out of passion or love, but in a last ditch effort of desperation to prevent her causing any injury to his 'kiss-a-lot' cousin. But this was far from over, especially after _that _display from the young brunette. If there was any hope of her surviving Lucy's wrath, it had now been shattered into a thousand tiny pieces. People who had betrayed Lucy's trust never walked away untouched or rather, even _alive _for that matter, and even though Yuka was Kouta's cousin, in Lucy's mind she was no exception to the rule.

Suddenly the young Diclonius felt Kouta stiffen and his breathing quicken. _Finally _he had realized…she was still in a towel…and it was slipping. But before Lucy could even blink, Kouta abruptly broke away, stammering and looking extremely flustered.

"I'm…I'm s-sorry," he muttered while turning if possible an even darker shade of red. "I-I didn't mean to…I-I didn't mean to do…"

"I'm going to my room," the cherry haired girl announced bluntly, interrupting Kouta's stuttering and ignoring his attempts to redeem his actions. But just as she went to turn away, Kouta made a grasp for her arm, his grip slipping slightly because of her still slightly damp skin.

"Wait," he called out after her in a very unsteady tone, afraid of what she might do to him if she didn't want to listen. "Could you at least…uh…maybe…apologize to Yuka? I'm going to have a lot to explain to her now so-"

But once again, Kouta was interrupted.

You may be able to prevent me from killing her Kouta," '_for now at least,' _"but don't you even assume for a second that I would even **consider **giving _her,_"— she turned to face and point at the unconscious girl currently slouched up against the wall—"the **honor **of my forgiveness, especially after what she _did_." Lucy's back was once again facing Kouta as she dare not turn to even look in his direction again for fear of losing control a second time…especially now…Kouta's questions had spurred the replay of the horrid event which she was forced to endure time and time again. And with each new start, more anger, sadness, helplessness and mainly guilt at not being able to save her friend from such a primitive species of murderous apes swirled within her very being…

She had to leave the room…**now**.

She didn't want to think about what she was capable of doing should she stay in the room a second longer…maybe she could dream about those possibilities tonight and then that should at least keep her sane for the next few days. With that thought, a smirk began menacingly forming on her lips as she began pacing slowly toward the doorway, humming to herself faintly as she did so.

* * *

Nana woke up a few moments later feeling incredibly dazed and her vision was horribly blurred. Although she felt too dizzy to stand, the young horned girl managed to slowly crawl her way to the dinning room, praying to God with all her heart that she didn't run into her extremely insane, hornless yet dangerous counterpart. Lucy's presence had fumbled her senses and as a result, for all she knew, she could be standing right above her, readying herself to decapitate what little was left of her original body. _That_ fear had constantly haunted Nana everyday since Lucy's return.

While Kouta and Yuka had been happy and a little more then surprised that she was indeed alive, Nana was instantly and still remained, very skeptical. The only thing worse then having to be chopped to pieces herself was having Lucy do it to her family. She had grown really fond of them all, especially Maiyu. They were the only ones who seemed to care about her, and the thought of living with her horns…alone…in this cruel world was too scary and unbearable to even consider.

So it came down to this…

She would protect them with every ounce of strength she had…or die trying.

It was as simple as that.

Upon reaching the room and even though her vision was still slightly fuzzy, Nana let out a huge sigh of relief. Lucy was no where to been seen and although Yuka looked a little beat up; both she and Kouta were still in one piece.

Kouta gently went about the tedious task of lifting his cousin into his arms so as not to disturb her, and upon completing his task; he began to walk out of the trashed room when he was delayed by a small tug on the bottom of his jeans.

"Kouta…I'm sorry…I'm so useless…I wasn't able to protect her…" Nana muttered through a raspy throat, trying her best to keep focused on her adoptive parents form looming over her. After everything else that had happened, it took Kouta a few minutes to actually register who it was begging for forgiveness at his feet, but thankfully, it didn't take long to sink in…

"Oh my god, Nana! Are you okay? Just hang tight for a minute, I'll just go and put Yuka down and then come back for you, alright?" The pink haired girl just smiled weakly before slowly allowing her eyes to flutter close under the immense pressure of her eyelids and floating off into darkness. Kouta's heart sank to the floor. Within milliseconds, his once cautious and slow pace had manifested into an all out sprint, doing his best to keep Yuka securely fastened in his arms and not allowing her limbs to flail about. He didn't know what had happened to Nana, he had thought that she had been left out of the whole mess but apparently he was wrong. Now that he thought about it, both Nana and Yuka probably needed a doctor or a medical professional of some kind, but again it was just simply too risky. If it were Nyuu, she may have been alright now that her horns were gone, but Nana still had hers and Kouta was sure that the hunt for impossibly sweet girl was far from over. He couldn't risk exposure and so, he would just have to hope for the best…hope that a few days of bed rest, and maybe some household painkillers would suffice as a remedy.

Kneeling down gently, Kouta threw back the covers of Yuka's futon and arranged her body as best he could amongst the sheets, trying hard to get her comfortable before running off to fetch Nana. Why was all this happening? Everything was falling apart and Kouta didn't know how long he could keep everyone in his family naïve to the obvious tension between his cousin and Nyuu.

'_What am I going to do?'_

* * *

He sat there quietly, attentively watching the two girls as they slept, secretly hoping that the older of the two didn't wake up anytime soon as he was sure she would batter him with questions about the previous events and in all honesty, Kouta was beginning to think that he wouldn't even be able to explain. It was all just too confusing. Lucy sure had caused quite the ruckus and now he was the only one able to deal with the mess. Not to mention there was still Yuka's problem too. Although he was angry, he couldn't help but be somewhat curious, who was Yumiko anyway? Was she a friend? A sister? A cousin? And what happened to her? What does that al have to do with Yuka? Just thinking about all of these questions was making Kouta's head hurt, he sighed loudly, exasperated before throwing his head into his hands in frustration.

'_I don't need all this…'_

Maybe he should just ask her? Pfft, yeah right, that would be like going into a bears den with a steak as a weapon…that was just asking for trouble, especially in her current mood. Although, maybe now that she had had a few hours to cool off, she would be more approachable. Or maybe he could go in there with another excuse and hope that Lucy would start talking of her own accord. Besides, he had just remembered that the ribbons covering her horns needed changing and of course he didn't want them getting infected, right? Yep that was it, she needed her dressings changed, that was why he needed to go and talk to her.

Suddenly feeing very enthusiastic, Kouta jumped to his feat, careful as to not disturb the two girls slumbering peacefully on the floor. But upon reaching the doorway that lead down toward Lucy's room, he heard sheets and covers stirring…the last thing he wanted to happen at the moment was Yuka waking up and attacking and screaming at him for what occurred just a mere few hours ago. Instantly he froze in his spot, hoping that all she was doing was simply moving around in her sleep…silent minutes passed and nothing else seemed to move, leading Kouta to believe that his first presumption was true. Letting out a huge sigh of relief and allowing his heart rate to return to its normal rhythm, he turned once more to face them both, offering the brunette in particular a silent apology…

'_I'm sorry Yuka…I just can't.'_

With one last, solemn look of regret, Kouta turned down the hallway and began heading towards Lucy's room. The problem was, Kouta knew that he was going to have to say those words again when she woke up which hopefully, if he was lucky, wasn't anytime soon.

He stopped momentarily just outside her door, preparing himself to enter…he could hear nothing; Lucy's room was just as silent as the rest of the house. In fact, the only indicator he had that she was even still awake was that her light was on. He knocked quietly on her door, awaiting a response. When he received none, he proceeded to announce who it was and hoped that would entice at least some kind of acknowledgement.

"Uhhh…it's Kouta, do you mind if I come in?"

Silence…

Getting rather irritated at her lack of any words whatsoever, Kouta decided to simply open the door and hope that she had at least changed into some clothes. He felt his cheeks burning as he remembered what happened before when he found out that she was in fact, wearing nothing at all besides a small piece of while, wet cloth. Quickly pushing that notion to the back of his mind, Kouta pulled back the sliding door and was relieved to find that Lucy was sitting on the floor with her legs tucked close to her sides, arms thrown carelessly in her lap and indeed she was _clothed_. But she seemed to have a fairly negative aura surrounding her as she continued to stare blankly at the opposite wall with the same unreadable, emotionless face as usual.

"Hey," he said a little louder, hoping to catch her attention. It worked, but she didn't move let alone blink as she replied.

"What do you want?" She snapped coldly, "have you come here to lecture me on what I did?"

Although taken aback by her tone, Kouta just brushed it off as her 'normal' distant behavior and continued on with the conversation, ignoring her attempts to get him to leave.

"No, I just came to change the dressings on your horns," he explained to her while pointing to the ribbons on her head. The once beautiful light purple silk was now a disgusting mixture of reddish brown, creating the impression that there was indeed something dead attached to her hair. This time the only movement she displayed was a slight movement of her pupils as he noticed, she still hadn't moved, but was now looking up at him out of the top corner of her eyes. Her stare carried a similar look to her face, dull and void of all feelings, almost like two black holes swirling slowly as they devoured all traces and hints of emotion.

"I guess if you must, then go ahead. I won't stop you," was all she offered from her stationary position on the floor, her eyes turning back to focus on the opposing wall.

Thankful that he hadn't been murdered yet, Kouta chose to say nothing as he went to her dresser to retrieve the antiseptic liquid, a bucket of water, a sponge and more dressings. Applying the gloves that he'd been using when addressing her wounds, Kouta bent down close to her and went about the tedious task of picking the blood saturated material from her hair.

"Sorry if I accidentally hurt you or anything." He said sympathetically as he made the first tug on the material surrounding what was her once rather adorable horn.

'_Even after all I've done to him, he still cares for me like he always does. But why? I don't deserve it…'_

"Are you angry with me?" Lucy suddenly asked in the same uncaring and serious tone as she always used when speaking.

The question had taken Kouta by such surprise that he had actually stopped working on her hair for a moment before he realized what she had said. "Well…maybe a little," he answered honestly. In truth he found that he wasn't angry anymore…not really. He found that he was more interested in what had provoked an attack like that, rather then taking offense to what she had done. Kouta simply wanted to find out why she was so upset with Yuka so that balance could be restored to the family. Although he knew the troubles went much deeper, he couldn't help but hope that this was all just simple unease and unsettlement caused by Lucy's/Nyuu's surprise return.

'_I really do hope that this turns out okay…'_

"Actually," Kouta began to improvise, hoping that he could just straight out ask her without getting nervous for any apparent reason. "I was just wondering, why were you so angry with Yuka?"

Lucy gave a small chuckle at this, not a happy one either. It was a laugh full of spite. "That stupid girl…is the reason that my friend is dead." Kouta once again stopped attending to her wounds as his face morphed into a shocked expression. "But how can that be?" He just about yelled, unable to think that his cousin, whom he had grown up with, could even muster up the nerve to do such a thing. "Yuka would never kill anyone!"

"No you're right, she didn't _directly _kill Natsume," she continued without any change in her voice, "but as I said before, if she hadn't opened her stupid mouth, she might still be alive…"

'_But then again, I guess that because I am what I am, I was doomed to **never** be happy from the very beginning.'_

Suddenly, Lucy's expression changed, the apparent pain from the topic being discussed was letting hints of anger and sadness slip through the cracks in her indifferent demeanor. And as Kouta studied her expression more closely, he could se that tears were brimming at the corners of her eyes. "Aside from you, she was the **only** other person who was never bothered by my horns…" she began to explain, her voice muffled by her hands and sobs. "We always played together in the park, and because she was an orphan like me, we soon became good friends." The cherry haired Diclonius paused briefly before continuing. "But, at that time, I came to realize that my…_activities _were being traced." Kouta didn't need her to explain who was following her, he guessed she was talking about the people in charge of the supposed 'facility' that both her and Nana were members of.

"One day, when we were playing in the park that we always did, I realized that a few men in suits with guns were standing near a bench…looking for me. I decided that the best thing to do was just act normal so as to not arouse suspicion, and that's when I saw your cousin, Kouta." She turned to face him for a moment, she looked truly pathetic, tears were freely falling down her cheeks, and her eyes were full of the agony of having to recount what was obviously an appalling and tragic tale. It was only now did Kouta realize that maybe instead of worrying about his curiosity, he should be thinking about what this was doing to _her_…

"You can stop now you know?" He whispered fondly whilst placing a supportive hand on her shoulder, "it looks like this conversation is causing you a great deal of pain anyway…you can tell me about all of this when you're ready, okay?" Lucy gave a weak smile before completely breaking down in hysterical sobs in his arms.

"I really don't deserve you…" she mumbled through her hands that were covering her face.

'_Thank-you for everything Kouta…'_

Slowly she began to stir. She felt like her eyelids had been glued shut, and her head felt like it was going to explode. Through the small slits in her eyes, Yuka was able to make out that she was lying down in a futon. Kouta must have put her there.

Kouta.

Just at the thought of his name a smile began to form on her lips. He was probably sitting just right near her…watching over her to make sure her condition didn't worsen. He really did care for her. Maybe her kiss had gotten to him after all. He probably hadn't realized that she was awake yet, and so she decided to let him know.

"Kouta…" Yuka croaked, trying to make out his familiar silhouette through the miniscule opening in her eyes, to no avail. Instead she awaited some sort of movement to tell her that he was crawling closer, but still…nothing. _'He probably just didn't hear me'_ she rationalized, hoping thather statement was indeed true.

"Kouta…" Yuka tried again, with all the strength she could muster. Silence. Nothing. Not even the sound of a cricket chirping outside. _'Would he really leave me alone after what happened?'_ Suddenly furious at the thought, she flung back the heavy covers of her futon and steadily began sitting up, doing her best to ignore the pounding sensation in her head. Slowly but surely she rose to her feet, stumbling a few times and almost falling back down on the bed. Eventually though, she found her footing and made an attempt to see through the dark of the room. It was hopeless. The only thing that she could really make out was the doorway, as there was a weak light emitting from the left hand side, further down the corridor. Slowly she began to make her way over towards the hallway, using the wall and various pieces of furniture as a prompt to keep her on her feet.

'_Kouta…where the hell are you?'_

Gradually she managed to creep her way down toward the light, hoping that it was indeed where Kouta was. She kept her eyes steadfast on her goal as she inched a step closer every few seconds. Every now and then she had to stop to rest…she was still quite weak from her…encounter. Actually, what did happen? All she could remember was standing there one moment _kissing _her beloved cousin before she was whisked off her feet and thrown hard up against the wall, unable to breathe. She had felt like something was choking the life out of her. (And she wasn't too far off either!) She remembered, just before her world went black, Kouta was screaming at someone to stop, but who was it?

Was the reason she was even still alive because Kouta had gotten the person attacking her to stop?

But even so, **_why _**was someone attacking her? Was it something she had…? Something she had done? How did they get into the house?

She needed to find him…_now_, and get some answers to all these questions.

With new found determination, Yuka once again began creep toward the only remaining room in house with a light still left on. She almost felt like it was calling to her, enticing her forward. Finally she had found him, and she exactly what was going to happen...

_She would slowly open the doors; he would turn around with a shocked expression adorning his handsome features before she would collapse from weakness into his strong arms…_

She couldn't wait.

Almost instantly she felt as though new strength was coursing through her veins. She latched onto the door tightly and expending as much energy as possible, she threw back the sliding door, readying herself to set her plans into motion. An unimaginable amount of giddiness seemed to take over, despite her sickly state; she couldn't help grin widely at finally reaching him.

That was until, she looked down.

In less then an instant, all traces of happiness were abruptly erased as her facial features morphed into a look of pure horror and shock…

The image of her 'knight in shining armor' had officially been smashed to thousands of tiny, razor sharp pieces…it was all over…

'_Kouta how could you…?'_


	6. Miss Understanding

**Always There: Chapter 6**

**Miss-Understanding**

* * *

"There isn't much left of you to cut off now is there?" Lucy teased, a malicious smirk creeping its way onto her lips.

"Nyuu, what are doing out here? Shouldn't you be in bed?" Maiyu asked, Wanta clutched tightly in her arms.

Lucy only looked at the brunette teenager for a second, a disgusted look painted on her features before calling on her vectors and slicing the innocent girl in half, splattering blood everywhere. The top half of the girl's body came to rest on the cold cement with a thud, a dumbfounded expression still present on her now crimson blotched face.

"NO!" Nana screamed, falling to her knees in agony as she stared at her best and only friend's now motionless body. The tears brimming at her eyes began to blur her vision, making it seem to Nana as if Maiyu was slowly fading away right in front of her, never to been seen again.

"What's going on out there?" Came a familiar voice from within the house and Nana knew who it was. The pink haired diclonius tore her gaze away from her 'sister's' corpse momentarily to prevent another family member having to meet the same gruesome end.

"Yuka! Don't come out here!" She screamed out in panic struggling to get to her feet to reach for the door.

But it was too late; Lucy vectors were much faster…

"Why not Nana? What's going-" Before the young college student could even open the door another inch to see what was happening, she was decapitated on the doorstep, her features also clenched in a confused and worried look as it fell down the few concrete steps in front of the house, slowly rolling to a stop at Nana's feet. She looked at Lucy in disbelief, still unable to fathom what had happened to her beloved family.

"Why…? Why…did you do it? I was so happy…"

Lucy grunted. "I wouldn't worry about that, besides, looks like it's your turn now anyway," she said in a rather mocking tone, before setting all four invisible arms on her pathetic looking target.

But this time, Nana made no attempt to protect herself from harm and instead merely watched as the insane cheery haired girl's weapons closed in on her at an alarming rate, eager to quarter what ever was left of her being. With her last few seconds, she cast her gaze downward onto the bloodied head resting at her feet, eyes wide and saddened.

'_Why Papa…? Why do I have to forget about her…?'_

* * *

Nana woke up with a start to the sound of cracking thunder outside, her clothes soaked in a cold sweat as she panted heavily…it was only a dream…a nightmare. It was over…hopefully. Taking deep breaths to calm herself, she gradually rose to an upright sitting position to survey the room. Her task was surprisingly easy as the throbbing in her head had diminished almost completely, allowing her to see quite clearly through the thick blanket of night. She guessed that mean that Lucy was also resting, putting an end to her worry for the moment. Aside from that she eventually came to the conclusion that she was in Yuka's room, the distinguishing characteristic being the large wooden dresser resting against the wall, close to the end of her futon, countless photos of her and Kouta's childhood splayed neatly across its smooth surface…

Seeing those pictures quickly got Nana thinking, thankfully wiping the unpleasant, not to mention ghastly scenes from her previous dream away. She knew that Kouta's feelings weren't directed at his cousin. They had always been (even though sometimes unconsciously) and always would be directed at Lucy and Nyuu. As much as she hated to see her adoptive mother upset, she knew that there was no changing the human heart, Yuka's feelings would never be reciprocated…she would be forced to endure and suffer the eternal burden of unrequited love.

Sighing quietly to herself under her breath, Nana pulled the covers up to her chin and gently lowered herself back down on to a yielding pillow, about to fall asleep when she noticed the identical, but empty futon adjacent to her own. Instantly she guessed that it must have been Yuka who had been lying there. The reason she wasn't still there however was a complete mystery to the young diclonius. Yuka had been beaten up pretty badly and probably needed more rest then she did. But, not wanting to pry into her private matters (Nana guessed that she was probably with Kouta) she decided that it was best to feign ignorance and promptly fall asleep. And that's exactly what she did. This time though, her dreams were pleasant…meeting with her Papa in a place without violence and discrimination. Just peace…

It was the best sleep Nana had had in long time…

* * *

'_Kouta…how could you?'_

Yuka stood there firmly, her fists clenching on the door so tightly that her fingers had mercilessly broken through the thin paper film covering the frame, splinters sliding easily under the skin, creating little rivets of blood that trickled down her forearm. She hadn't seemed to notice though, her eyes all too intently focusing on the scene in front of her.

It was innocent enough. Kouta had simply fallen asleep against the mahogany cabinet, his head gently resting on the cool wood. And Nyuu was curled up in his lap, while Kouta's arms were draped lazily around her sleeping form. Nothing scandalous had happened and yet, just by the mere sight of it all, Yuka felt her blood begin to boil. It was almost unbelievable…there she was, _his cousin_, in need of serious attention and even then, he still managed to completely ignore it and find his way back to her…a person whom he had only known for a few months. Why was it her? Why was it **always **_her?_ She had known Kouta for _years_, she knew that his favorite food was soumen, that he preferred walking to driving, she knew the beach was his favorite place to visit…she knew all this and more and yet, it didn't seem to matter. She felt like she couldn't blame Nyuu…no, Nyuu was too innocent to appreciate fully what was happening. It was Kouta's fault for taking advantage of her abnormal and somewhat mysterious attachment to him.

Feeling the anger quelling in her mind, Yuka marched over to Kouta and abruptly kicked him hard in the side, jolting him awake within seconds. Tears began to pour down her face as she glared at him in his half asleep and confused state. His movement also awoke the girl sleeping peacefully in his lap, enticing a loud yawn as she stretched, rubbing her eyes to dispel the sleep. The raven haired young man looked up at his cousin puzzled and slightly annoyed.

"What did you do that for Yuka?" Slowly he rose to his feet, bringing with him the object of his cousin's jealousy, even if she would never readily admit it to herself.

She didn't say anything at first; she just continued to stare him down, her body quivering with the effort of having to restrain her emotions. Kouta seemed oblivious to this and opted to simply once again go back to sleep, merely remarking on her physical wellbeing as if what had just happened only hours before wasn't a big deal.

"I'm glad to see that you're okay, but you really still shouldn't be walking around…you should-"

"Just disappear?" Yuka interrupted in a mock serious tone.

"No…what's wrong with you anyway?" He interjected harshly as his senses finally managed to grasp the situation.

"You tell me!" She screamed finally, unable to hold back any longer. "What happened to me back there? And don't tell me you don't know, because I know you do!"

Kouta bit his lip, unable to decide what to say. He tried to detain the moment as long as possible, choosing his words carefully…

"Why did I feel like I was being chocked to death? Who attacked me?"

'_Okay that's a good thing; she doesn't remember anything…maybe I can get out of this after all…but the question is, how?'_

"Kouta…tell me something," his cousin murmured. Her expression suddenly went unreadable as her eyes clouded over, making it impossible to know what she was thinking. The sound of her voice though was enough to nudge him from his thoughts and all too glad for a subject change, he intently listened, hoping to lead her further away from the current dead end topic of her attempted suffocation. "What is it?"

Her gaze flew up and connected with his, open and earnest. "Do you…do you _like _Nyuu?"

'_Whaaaa…?'_

"Of course I _like_ her! What's with you? I think you must have a fever or something." He began lifting his arm up, but when it came within range of her face, she abruptly smacked the concerned gesture away, knowing that he thought she was being uncharacteristically insane for the way she was talking. Just more painful-to-admit proof that since Nyuu had come back, it was as if she had never existed…

"Why…why her?" She pleaded, the anger steadily rising in her voice. Nyuu had only just recently tuned into the squabble, alerted only by the sound of her name, she sauntered her way over to where they were fighting, only to have a finger thrown carelessly in front of her face and the childlike smile that had once adorned her lips instantly vanished. "It's always about Nyuu! You don't care about me at all anymore! Even when I was nearly killed you still managed to find your way back to her…" Yuka's voice trailed off as sobs began rising in her throat, preventing her from speaking. She didn't know what to do…it didn't seem to matter what she did, nothing would get her cousin's attention…at least, not _that _kind of attention anyway…the kind of pure adoration he seemed to be able to give so easily to Nyuu…

"I finally know now…I know that it doesn't matter what I say, you'll never look at me the same way you look at her…"

"Yuka, wait! You don't know what you're saying-" Kouta ran after her and reached out to stop her progress toward the door by grabbing her shoulder. She turned around to face him, abruptly reaching up and punching him square in the face, almost breaking his nose. He didn't fall over, as he was half expecting that kind of typical 'Yuka answer', but nonetheless it still hurt.

"Of course I know! When she wasn't here, all you'd do was mope about the house, staring at that music box which _I _gave back to you! Why was I so stupid…?" She trailed off, running from the room trying desperately to cover up her sodden face while Kouta still stayed huddle on the floor, his palm clutching loosely at the bridge of his nose, assessing it for damage. It wasn't broken luckily, and apart from the usual swelling, redness and slight bleeding that he always had when dealing with a Yuka inflicted injury, he would be okay.

It took him awhile to realize, as he only saw a flash of red out of the corner of his eye, but Nyuu was crouched at his side, a mixed expression of concern and fright plastered across her somewhat pale skin. Her eyes were shining in the dim light, tears pooling in the corners of her eyes. She had obviously understood at least some of the events that had just transpired and as a result, her innocence and naivety had taken quite a blow. She could no longer remain ignorant to the situation taking place. Along with her learning of new words, she had also learned to interpret tones and gestures giving her a rather terrifying glance into the true nature of people's emotions.

The crimson haired mutant didn't understand everything that Yuka had said, but then again, she didn't need to. She had been pointing at her whilst screaming at Kouta…and the brunette would only point to and yell at things that she had done wrong. And so, because Yuka was pointing at Nyuu rather then, for example, a mess she had made, the adolescent diclonius came to the only conclusion that a girl with still very limited knowledge about human nature could ever come to…

_She_ was bad…it was her fault that Kouta had been punched…

Her eyes widened in horror.

"Nyuu sorry! Kouta…Nyuu sorry!" She grasped onto his shirt, sobbing into his chest. Kouta had seen her upset before, but never this bad. She was heaving and hiccupping now, struggling to even breathe properly she was crying so hard.

"Nyuu…w-will…stay away…from…Kouta…I…bad person!" Her grip on him tightened as the patch of salty liquid grew on the bottom of his top. Quickly he placed a condoling arm around her quivering frame, attempting to calm her.

"It's alright Nyuu; it wasn't your fault-"

"Yes! All Nyuu's fault!" She spluttered out in more broken English, ignoring his attempts at encouragement and soothing. "Kouta hurt because of what Nyuu did!" He tried to speak again, but his words were lost as Nyuu's waling increased its volume dramatically. Now that she had convinced herself enough that she was the cause to the whole mess, she carelessly shrugged off Kouta loose one-armed embrace (the other hand was still pinching his nose lightly to stop the flow of blood) and also left the room, but instead of running upstairs, she threw open the front door loudly, almost forcing it out of the wooden groove that had kept it in place and ran outside into the now pouring rain, still weeping hysterically. By the time Kouta had recovered properly, she was long gone, wondering aimlessly through the dark and the inexplicably thick sheets of rain.

"**Nyuu**!" He called pointlessly through the white noise of droplets.

There was no point in bothering. Even if she was close by, she wouldn't be able to hear him. Instinctively, he grabbed a bamboo handled umbrella and a flashlight, before sprinting out into the darkness after her.

He was terrified. A girl like Nyuu out in a storm like this during the night…? He didn't want to think about it…but what if he couldn't find her?

Kouta shivered, and it wasn't the cold that had caused it.

He had to find her; it was as simple as that.

"**Nyuu! Nyuu where are yo-**" He was interrupted as a huge gust of wind caught under the flimsy waterproof film covering the frame of the umbrella, snatching it from his slippery grasp and sending it flying off into the black sky above his head. Almost instantaneously, the rain began attacking from every side, the icy water like thousands of tiny daggers piercing his saturated skin, the thin fabric of his drenched shirt offering him no protection from the onslaught of the storm. Still he persisted, forcing himself to plough through the mixed barrier of wind and water. The tendrils of his raven hair slapping him constantly in the face, along with the continued assault of the rain making it painfully difficult to see where he was going, his flashlight nothing but a mere flicker.

There was something about Nyuu that always seemed to send him to pieces, but this time, she seemed to be taking his whole 'family' with her. Protecting her always meant hurting others and he seemed to be doing a good job of that as well. She never deserved what had happened to her in the past…it wasn't her fault. Maybe that was why he was protecting her so willingly? Even as his family was torn to shreds, he ran out after her recklessly into a typhoon-grade storm, scared shitless about what he may find if he had waited until morning.

He could see it…her pale, icy body curled up in what was now only sloshed mud and debris, her expression one of pure misery and anguish, staring off into the distance…lifeless. Her chest would no longer creak with the sound of her breathing, her lips blue and wrinkled from the cold. Her clothes nothing more then loveless rags, stained with a mixture of salty tears and brownish sludge…

'_No…'_

He _would _find her…alive. He _loved _her…

So she would be found…

But things worse then the storm where already steadily becoming visible on the horizon…

* * *

"She isn't going to be easy to find you know," the young man complained, frustrated at having to sit down for so long. "She hasn't caused any trouble, so why bother?"

The man sitting beside him made no attempt to answer; opting to simply ignore the annoying, prying tone he was using and instead, continued to read his newspaper, taking a discrete swig from his whiskey bottle as he did so. He glanced up briefly outside the window, the first signs of a shoreline coming into view. It had only been a two hour helicopter ride from the facility. He didn't understand why his partner was being so restless, not to mention uncooperative. He shifted his gaze over to him; he was hunched over in a slouched position, with his arms crossed defiantly across his chest. His entire posture screamed annoyed and impatient.

"We're nearly there. All will be answered…soon." He mumbled, half smiling to himself.

The hunt for the unwanted was indeed beginning…


	7. The Promise

**Always There: Chapter 7**

**The Promise**

_The sky was a bloody, tragic red as the lips of the sun fought to stay on the horizon…nightfall was approaching. A young raven haired boy sat silently on the concrete's edge; casually banging his feet against the cement in time to the song he was quietly humming to himself…his favorite tune from his music box…the one **she **liked._

_A seagull's echoed cries reached his ears and for a brief moment he paused in his reminiscence to admire the bird, watching it glide effortlessly through the sky, landing gracefully in the orange tinted azure ocean as it fed on a small catch of prey…_

_If only that girl could fly away like that…she just seemed to be so lonely and miserable._

_She didn't deserve to suffer…that was it. Next time he came back, he would find her and make her happy for the rest of her life. He didn't know exactly how he was going to do it, but he made a silent vow to himself that he would do whatever he could to alleviate her pain and make her smile… _

'She was acting so weird though…I wonder what's wrong with her…?'_ He considered this for a brief moment before quickly deeming it to be insignificant_. 'I sure wish I had her horns though!'_ He laughed at the irony. He wanted them so badly because they really did look awesome, but she always said that they gave her so much trouble._

"_Kouta! There you are! Where have you been? I've missed you so much!" He didn't have much time to see who it was before he was tackle-hugged around the neck and almost fell off the ledge and onto the polluted sand of the beach._

"_Hey Yuka, come on! You're being ridiculous!" He sighed, exasperated with how 'clingy' she was being._

"_How can you say that Kouta! You're leaving tonight and I won't see you again for a whole year!" She whined, and right on schedule, as what happened every year, she started crying…again. _

"_Where have you been the last two days? I missed you so much!"_

"_Well, when I snuck out of the house, I met this really strange girl-"_

'No…you're mine. You're only allowed to be mine!'

"_You did WHAT!" Kouta winced as her voice climbed to an unbearable level, looking over at her cousin in surprise. She was teary eyed and that was no shock, but he couldn't understand why she thought he had to be around her every waking second of the day! He about to protest, saying that he had the right to do whatever he pleased but was instead interrupted by another familiar voice._

"_Kouta! Look! I found a ton of pretty seashells!"_

_Kanae…his annoying little sister…_

"_They don't look so great to me!" He teased, turning away from her in mock disappointment. She was stunned to say the least; furious and confused as to why he was being so mean when she had gone to all this trouble to find him something that he would like._

_Why had he been so mean to her and on her last day too…?_

_Why didn't he tell Kanae how much he did indeed cherish his little sister that he always felt an obligation to protect? _

Why hadn't he told Nyuu exactly how he felt about her before she ran off into the cold and stormy night…?

History does indeed repeat itself.

"Dammit…Nyuu! Nyuu where are you!" Kouta screamed through a now impossibly thick sheet of rain. Nothing was visible in front of him, even his vision was clouded as the rain began rapidly pooling in the corner of his eyes. At this rate, he was sure that he had a better chance of either catching pneumonia or getting himself lost before he ever found Nyuu in all this mess. Finding the adolescent cherry haired girl in this kind of weather would have to entail a miracle, and the young university student was not one to believe in those kinds of things. Besides, he couldn't find her if he really did get sick…he'd be useless. Perhaps the best thing he could do was find some shelter and wait out the storm, and pray that Nyuu wasn't already dead. Despite himself, Kouta couldn't help but imagine the various, scary scenarios of what may happen if he was not to find her.

_Falling down a cliff…_

_Wandering onto a road and being hit by a car or truck…_

_Slowly contracting some disease from being exposed to the elements like this…_

_Some man finding her and taking advantage of her innocence…_

So many things that caused him to involuntary shudder…the cold was biting at his skin ferociously and he was losing feeling in his legs. His breathing quickened, leaving ghostly puffs of air dispersing constantly in front of his face. He didn't know what to do. He was trapped and everything was going wrong…but he couldn't, he wouldn't lose her a second time. He couldn't bear the thought of it.

He had a promise to keep after all…

* * *

Now she was horribly lost.

Even though she knew this she continued to run, keeping her arms up just above her forehead, trying to make what was a pathetic excuse for a makeshift visor to keep out the ferocious and seemingly torrential rain that continued to slap her in the face. Her lungs were burning with the strained effort to keep breathing whilst having run so far, and her legs were slowly losing the momentum to keep her upright. She was in trouble, but she had no other choice but to run. It was her fault that Yuka and Kouta were always fighting. It was all her fault for everything…she had no where else to go and so, she kept on running.

It was better when nobody knew anything. The reemergence of scattered memories had ultimately destroyed her home. At least before hand, the feelings that she and Kouta had developed between each other were untainted by stains of blood and tears. She suddenly fell over…hard, landing in the mud. She wanted to get up and keep going… to keep running…but what was the point? She had nothing to go back to, and she had been deemed to be the root of all chaos ever since she had reunited with Kouta…it would be better if simply died here anyway. Her skin was pale and she was violently trembling, the cold had become almost unbearable, even worse then the horrible torture experiments she was forced to undergo at the facility. Mud was caked in every nook and cranny of her sodden frame. Technically she was a mess and even probably looked dead to the casual observer.

To keep her eyes open was taking every bit of strength she had left, and even then she couldn't see anything…what was the point? Tears poured from her eyes as she realized what was coming. It was a familiar fear…dying. It wasn't supposed to be like this though…she just wanted to be with him. Was it really that much to ask? Apparently so. More tears came, mixing with the blood on her face from the grazes she had received from running through the trees.

"Kouta…"

And then, just like that, Nyuu surrendered to the darkness…

* * *

'_I'm so stupid…'_

"Ah!" Yuka stumbles on the stairs but managed to quickly regain her balance. She hadn't been able to sleep since her fight with Kouta. Now what was she going to do? She had finally accepted that no matter what she did he would never look at her the same way. It was all over the instant he had laid eyes on Nyuu eight years ago. She should have known, at if she had seen it back then she could have at least told herself it was just a stupid childhood crush…that it was nothing serious. But she had been brewing, crying, laughing and rejoicing about being with him during that whole eight years and now, it had all been shattered.

Just because she had accepted it, didn't mean that she could live with it.

Yuka knew that even though she now acknowledged Kouta's true feelings…that didn't mean she could just continue with life as if she were oblivious. Having to watch another girl so easily win the heart and body she had been after for so long laugh and play with him would undoubtedly tear her heart to shreds…

'_Not that he hasn't done that already…'_

She would have to move out. In fact, that's why she had come down from her room in the first place. To tell him…first thing in the morning, she was going to start packing. At first, she had hindered her decision, all for the good of both Maiyu and Nana. The young brunette detested the idea of having those two already rejected girls growing up in a broken household. But it was now getting past the point of intolerable and she didn't think that she could hold out much longer. Unfortunately though, all was dark and quiet downstairs, save for the constant ravaging of the storm outside.

"Kouta?" Yuka asked quietly, looking around for any signs of movement. She suddenly felt a slight breeze whip her skin, making her chilly. Upon closer inspection, she found that the front door was wide open allowing icicle rain droplets and storm debris to hurl its way into the house.

"What on earth…?" She wondered out aloud as she crept towards the origin of the draft, her arms tucked tightly at her sides as a pathetic attempt at keeping warm. _'Who was stupid enough to leave the door open like this…?'_

Closing the door and thinking nothing other then how strange it was, Yuka continued her search for her cousin, trying hard to convince herself that she had made the right decision despite the phenomenal amount of pain that was resonating in her chest. She was doing the right thing, she knew. It was time to finally let go…he would understand…he had to.

However, it was only after searching out the entire house at what seemed like a snails pace did she come to the horrible realization that neither Kouta nor Nyuu were actually there. The aching in her chest abruptly jumped to a healthy throb as she began to panic, not really knowing what she should do. Her first thought had been to call the police but then after some the anxiety wore off she realized how livid Kouta would be…not that she really cared anyway. Although Nyuu's horns were gone, she wouldn't even dare to take any risks. Especially considering that, after the state they had found her in when she returned, whoever it was looking for her the first time had no intention of leaving alive. It was amazing how spiteful she was; despite her logical side chastising her for being so irrational…it was her love doing this. After being ignored for so long it couldn't help but be annoyed. Her devotion and affection for him had been growing rapidly since the day they reunited, but in a time span of less then a few hours it had seemingly shriveled up and died…nothing was left.

Her feelings fading? Yes. But far from just giving up and letting fate just sweep it away.

"Why did it have to be like this…?" She whispered to herself, slowly leaning up against the smooth cool glass from one of the windows. Going out in this weather had been deemed to be a suicidal and a rather idiotic ordeal…she didn't know exactly why Kouta had decided to go out into this storm with Nyuu, but she really didn't want to think about it either…

'_Maybe they're eloping…' _She cursed hotly under her breath as she gathered a blanket and pillow, prepping herself to sit by the window and wait for their return. She knew that he would never do anything like that. He was always nice to all the girls and only had their best interests at heart.

All accept her that is…It was going to be a long night…

* * *

"Wake up!" The man ordered gruffly, unbuckling himself from his chair and rising. "We're here."

The younger one grunted and made a lame attempt at sweeping away the intruding limb from his face. "Just five more minutes…" His partner only sighed, exasperated. He couldn't believe that their boss had insisted on taking the 'young pup' out on this expedition to gather some experience. He was causing more trouble and taking more time to deal with then it was worth.

"We have to give our report of what we saw to Director Kakazawa. You should know after the discussion I had with him on the phone that he does _not _like to be kept waiting." He had said this a little more harshly then intended, but it worked. Before he could count to three the young man was up on his feet, seemingly ready for action and gave a somewhat amusing and pathetic salute to his Capitan. "Yes sir, sorry sir!"

"Right…" he muttered to himself under his breath before stepping out onto the landing pad of the facility, the blades of the giant flying machine still turning swiftly and creating quite the noise. Maybe, because of the noise, the director already knew they had arrived. Somehow, it was an unnerving thought.

They remained in silence the whole journey to the 'head-honcho's' office; a group of soldiers wordlessly leading them down bleached white halls with large thick, steel, coded doors, large red numbers printed boldly on each one. He really had no idea what they meant and although he was curious, he knew better then to ask.

The stopped abruptly in front of a similar door, minus the bright red paint. The soldiers pressed a series of buttons and swiped a card, allowing entry. The stood to the side, consented the two men to walk through. Even before they had a chance to take n the surroundings of the abnormally large room, they were met with a very dark, demanding voice, and the older of the two men instantly realized who it was.

"Now tell me what you saw that day about a week ago after our facility personnel were massacred. My assistant told me you saw something very interesting indeed." The elderly man leant back into his dominant black chair, regarding the partners from a distance. A malicious smirk crept onto his lips as he thought about what he had heard.

Perhaps the 'Queen' that was so vital to his plan but thought to be dead would still prove to be useful after all…

"Well…um…we didn't see all that much sir," the younger one stuttered. "But like we said…when we were sent to investigate a large proportion of dead bodies found on the town bridge, we noticed something very strange." It was here that the older male took over, not relying on his adolescent counterpart to relay the information steadily enough. The director's petulant stare was indeed intimidating, even to him.

"We found two blunt, bloodied horns amongst the bodies. But as we were examining them, we saw a girl with cherry colored hair who just snatched them off us and shattered them to pieces while they floated in the air." He stopped for a breath, having a hard time even believing his own words as the director looked on, listening intently.

"She was bloody too, but most of it was on her face. I was suspicious immediately, but I questioned her as a civilian just incase she was innocent and had somehow gotten caught up in a really bad mess…" The man continued to speak, but Kakazawa wasn't listening anymore. He was already last in his many menacing thoughts, digging up plans he thought would have long since remained abandoned…

Like re-capturing Lucy.

"…and then she stumbled off, something about having to get home…I offered her a ride but she just plain ignored me. I had no idea this was important until I told my boss and he-"

"That's quite enough," the director's voice interrupted, echoing throughout the entire room, dominating and impatient. "You've been most helpful," he said in a slightly mocking tone. This caused both the men to come to high alert, realizing the menacing tone laced with his words of gratitude. They backed away slowly, but this only caused the man up the other end of the room to snicker in delight.

"Scared are you? You should be. I don't usually let people who know as much as you escape…alive." Unbeknownst to each other, they latched their hands together, temporarily naïve to what they were doing whilst in fear for their lives. The soldiers that had remained stationary for the most part of their conversation suddenly snapped into action; pointing their rifles at the two men's heads.

"P-please…" the younger one begged, "I-I have a wife and…and a new baby…"

The elder one said nothing, his fear rendering him unable to speak. Instead he slammed his eyes shut, his features clenched in panic as he acknowledged the barrel full of gunpowder currently aimed at his head.

"But you're lucky this time," came the controllers voice after what had seemed like an eternity. Immediately, the soldiers relented and backed off as the men gasped for air in relief, still clutching each other tightly. "I have a use for you."

Not bothering to give them the time to recover from what was obviously a horrific psychological ordeal, he continued to relay his orders to the men, saying things as they came to mind…

"I need you two to find an assassin that has been known to have come into contact with 'the girl' you two saw. His name is Bando. Find him, and I will let you go. Don't, and you know what will happen. He gave a nod toward the guards at the doors and the two policemen didn't need to look behind them to know what he meant.

'_What have we gotten ourselves into…?'_

* * *

"Oh my God, Nyuu!" Kouta rushed over, dropping his useless torch into the leaf litter as he fell to his knees in relief, hugging her trembling form close. "Are you okay? I was so worried!" He sounded like a baby…he couldn't believe that he was about to start crying. _'This was all my fault…I let it get out of hand…'_ He noticed quickly though that she hadn't woken up yet, her lips a deep blue color…Was she dead?

He didn't even allow the thought to penetrate for even a minute before he began to violently shake the limp girl in the hopes of arousing her from her hopefully just deep sleep…

Still no reaction.

It really was his entire fault? She was dead! He should have come sooner; he shouldn't have let her run away. He shouldn't have let things get so bad at home…

So many things he **shouldn't have done** and yet now, there really was nothing her could do…this time, he really did cry…

"Kouta…" the deep yet feminine voice of the pale girl in his arms woke him from his self-blaming state as she turned to look him in eye. It was then he saw, in his embrace was not the happy, somewhat dimwitted girl Nyuu, it was the other one…the one who had taken away his beloved family…

Words couldn't even begin to describe how unbelievably happy he was when he realized that although she was undoubtedly cold from being exposed to these elements, she was indeed alive.

But before he could mutter even a word she abruptly pushed her way out of his warmth and weakly crawled away through the mud. "You shouldn't have come after me."

Shocked at her sudden distant demeanor, he quickly followed after her. "Why not?" The storm had died down a little, the largest noise now being the wind howling through the tress, creating the impression that there were ghosts floating above his head.

"I know I'm not wanted in that house…I'm not wanted anywhere." She stated rather matter-of-factly. She huddled herself in the crook of a bolder, bringing her legs up close to her torso a fair distance away from were Kouta was slumped in the forest floor grime. He regarded her through the rain, noticing that, even though she looked absolutely tragic at this point, her hair seemed to dance gracefully in the harsh wind, occasionally wisping across her face every now and then. Those familiar deep ruby eyes were still shining brightly through the fury of the rain…everything…everything about her was just so…undeniably beautiful.

"You _are _welcome and will **_always _**be welcome there," he stated firmly. "I don't care what anyone else thinks."

She laughed then, not a joyful, carefree laugh, but a sadistic one. "Kouta…you're too deep in denial. I was not supposed to come back, didn't you know?" She arched an inquisitive eyebrow at this, awaiting his answer. He said nothing for a moment as he pondered her question…then came up with his response.

"Why did you come back then?" He challenged her, watching her cautiously from his spot a good distance away. He thought that he'd caught her off guard, but she didn't seem too put off by it. "Because I wanted to," She said simply. Despite the cold weather, she felt a heated blush creep its way onto her blanched cheeks as rapidly tried to hide it within the folds of her legs. Kouta only smiled as he scotched his way over to her, removing his drenched outer light blue vest, getting it ready to use as a pathetic excuse for a blanket. Spreading it over her lean, exposed shoulders he gave her a small hug before getting ready to help her to her feet. She hesitated as she looked at him, meeting his gaze directly for the first time that night.

"What is it?"

"Why **did **you come back for me anyway?" She asked harshly. Although a little thrown off by her tone, he just guessed she was back to her same old stoic self again. He sighed inwardly to himself at the thought. He actually quite liked the Lucy that smiled…(even if he had only seen her smile that one time one the steps…it was still a smile!)

"That's easy," he whispered, perfecting his jackets position on her shoulders. She blushed again when she realized how close his face was and again tried to turn away.

And again, he laughed.

"What's so easy?" She asked quickly, trying to hide as much of her embarrassment as possible. Kouta said nothing…and then…he began to hum…

What was he humming? It was hard to hear over the wind, but she caught glimpses of it through calm patches of stillness and was eventually able to decode his cryptic answer.

Their song… _'Lilium' _And through its echo, he played to her an underlying message through its melancholic tone.

A silent, wordless promise…

A promise made so long ago, even she struggled with the memory…

And yet…

'_I'm sorry, Kouta…this is all my fault. I'm still alive…I shouldn't be because…because now, you'll have to die too. I'm so selfish…please forgive me…but promise to allow me to stay with you, in that house for just a little longer…_

'_I don't wish this to end…not just now…'_

'_It looks like I'll succeed in remaking the world after all…_

* * *

**A/N: **Hello everyone, back with another chapter for you guys. I've revealed some of my plot in this chapter and maybe it'll be some food for thought for you all. I'm planning quite the twist as well at the end for this story, so I hope that you'll all look forward to that. Don't worry, I know it was a bit jumbled but I've portrayed it al like this for good reason, there is a method to my madness so don't panic. Everything is supposed to be falling apart right now so I can bring it all together neatly at the end. But whether I bring it together neatly and happily or neatly and tragically you won't know unless you keep reading! Sorry that it took me so long to update, school sucks. But thankfully, I got sick this week, thus giving me valuable time to write and get this up for you all.

I dedicate this chapter to all my good friends on the forum, especially my very huggable friend, Diclonius-Calvin! Thanks for all the cuddles dude! I'm in a super happy mood now despite the fact that I'm really sick! I just love being donned with so much attention! -Tackle hugs- YAY! I'm so happy!

**Author's Note, 9th March 2006: **Okay people, can I _please _get some reviews here? I've typed up the new chapter to this story, chapter eight which is called **Complications **but there is no chance of it being posted until I get some more reviews! I hardly know anyone on my alerts list, and the hit count is up past 3000 now. Honestly, am I doing something wrong here? I don't know unless people tell me. From the reviews I receive, everyone thinks I'm doing fine. I'm all for constructive criticism, just not flaming. Please…it doesn't take much to review…a few more and I'll update, okay?

**_Please _**review!

Warui-Usagi


	8. Complications

**Always There: Chapter 8**

**Complications**

**A/N: **Okay just a quick little message. Some of you seem to think that this is a Kouta/Yuka fic. Please be assured that it is **not**. It is **Kouta/LucyNyuu**. Whilst I don't like Yuka (and never will) I would never kill or do anything bad to her. Not because I don't want to (because seriously I do) but because it's just not in the nature of the story for something to happen to her. Lucy and Kouta though…you never know…-grins evilly-

Anyway, I just want to dedicate this chapter to **Warwolf** because it's his birthday today! YAY! Happy birthday!

I hope you like your present:P

* * *

"Okay…you head upstairs and run yourself a bath, alright?" Kouta urged as he stepped into the house. "Make sure it's hot and come downstairs when you're done, we need to talk." He met her clouded gaze for a moment before ushering her off. It was indeed incredibly hard to know what she was thinking at that point. Her muddied cherry locks were plastered to her pale skin, covering most of her facial expression.

He watched her head up and didn't move until he heard her turn on the faucets, deeming only then that she was physically stable enough and wouldn't need any help. It was then that he was met with another surprise; his cousin curled up by the large window at the front of the house, obviously awaiting their return. He smiled inwardly to himself as he watched her, but his positive grin instantly vanished when he noticed a small white envelope on the dark mahogany coffee table next to where she was sleeping. He took a bold step towards it and was even more shocked at what was written on the front.

_Kouta._

His line of vision traveled once again over toward the brunette seemingly draped in the chair, and upon closer inspection, he managed to catch a glimpse of the writing materials strewn around her feet.

"What's this for…?" He thought aloud in trepidation as his fingers traced the seal on the back. He knew it couldn't be good…he was sure that it had something to do with the fight they had earlier tonight. He didn't know exactly why he was so nervous, but it could be that Yuka only ever wrote notes to him when she refused to speak with him directly. And the only time this happened was when she was **_extremely_** angry.

With a deep breath to calm himself, he steadily opened the letter…all written in Yuka's tidy scrawl.

But upon starting to read it, he suddenly wished he hadn't opened it…

_Dear Kouta,_

_I'm sorry that I wasn't_ _able to be what you wanted. I'm happy though for you and Nyuu…you both seem very happy. I know now that I never held your affections and although it has taken me nearly three months to realize this, I know now that it's true…you've **always **liked her and not me. I think the defining point was just before Nyuu disappeared; after I had returned form gathering soumen noodles, I saw you two…together…and heard what you said. I still denied it and waited for you to prove me wrong…but you didn't…you never did._

_And although I missed Nyuu when she left, I had hope for the two of us. As selfish and horrible it was of me to even think it…I thought that now, you'd pay attention to me. But again you didn't. You wept and mourned her loss for days on end…even in death she still held on tightly to your heart. I used to get so mad watching you sit there, staring at that seashell and listening to that music box. I even started to wonder…would you cry for me if I passed away? Am I important to you? Did you ever love me? I know what the answers to all of these questions are in my heart…_

_Yes. Just…not the way I want it to be._

_I mean after all, who would **love **me? I nag and get angry at you when I don't think that you're paying attention to me. I'm picky and over-protective about the stupidest of things, I cry all the time, I get jealous. Despite what Maiyu may think I would never make a good mother._

_I can't bear to watch you anymore…I'm leaving. I'll start packing first thing tomorrow morning. I love Nana and Maiyu and will miss them dearly, but honest to God Kouta, this is all getting past unbearable. Watching you two flirt with each other…I can't take it anymore…I'll come by and visit the girls as often as I can and don't worry; I can make it on my own. I treasure the time we spent together as kids and I hope that it will always remain untainted by my feelings._

_I love you, Kouta. Very much. And I always will._

_Goodbye._

_Your cousin,_

_Yuka._

He was furious. He couldn't believe that just because things weren't going her way, she was abandoning their entire family. Maiyu, Nana and Nyuu **_needed_** her. The delicate paper resting in his palms was instantly crushed in-between his fingers. He knew she was stubborn, but he had never thought that she would resort to this. Just when things around were beginning to calm down, this happens.

'_Wonderful.'_

However, there was no doubting that the words in the letter were true. Of course he cared for his cousin. But he could never, just like she had said, _love _her in the full sense of the word. He had only ever seen them as friends, even when they were young he had never once thought that someday Yuka would be his wife or anything. And his relationship with Nyuu?

Well that was…complicated.

That was the only way he could describe it. It was strange. He felt easier around her other counterpart, the one who had indeed murdered his family. Maybe it was because she knew full well what was going on and what had happened between them. She was…more mature. When it came to Nyuu though, there was no doubting that he loved her, but the _kind _of love was what was so hard to define. He felt like it was a tad inappropriate to love her any other way then perhaps what you would call 'brotherly concern' seeing as she seemed to have the mentality of a four year old toddler. She was so naïve…she knew nothing of the world and seeing as such, he constantly reminded himself not to get too taken up in her actions…she didn't know what she was doing or what it meant…

Yes. His relationship with the _two _girls known as Nyuu to both Yuka and Maiyu was indeed interesting…

But he would do anything for them, he was always worrying, always panicking, always talking, always feeling this compulsive need to be close by…

He was always there.

So…did that mean he loved them? It was all just so confusing…

A groan from over near the window followed by a yawn disturbed his thoughts, but also confirmed to him…_she_ was awake.

"Yuka…"

"Hmmm? What? K-Kouta! Y-you scared me!" She announced, promptly falling off the chair and onto the hard wooden floor with a rather large 'thud.'

Without a second thought, he rushed to her side and mechanically apologized as he helped her to her feet again. She accepted it, which was not what he had expected, but it didn't take her long to come to her wits. Abruptly she slapped his hand away and took a good step backwards, maintaining the distance between them. She wanted to finish this exchange with as little damage done to her heart as possible. And that meant not getting 'emotionally' involved. But Kouta had predicted her reaction and managed to get a firm grasp on both her upper arms as he stared her down, unrelenting in his mission to convince her otherwise.

His cousin returned his intense stare equally, unfazed by his attempted intimidation. "I see you got my letter."

"Why are you doing this?" He whispered, struggling to keep his voice under control, "I don't understand."

"What isn't there to understand!" She suddenly screamed, shrugging of Kouta's hold. "It's all your fault!"

"How is this _my _fault? What? Just because things aren't going your way you all of a sudden decide that this family, **_our _**family. Is worthless to you?" He matched her loud tone, not paying attention to the fact that both Nana and Maiyu were sleeping just upstairs.

"How could you even say such a thing? I love everyone in this family. But I'm tired of you making me take a back seat to everything! Honestly Kouta sometimes I feel like I don't exist." She began to cry then, stumbling away from him once again in a pathetic attempt at regaining her composure.

"I was always there Kouta, and you never seemed to see what I wanted…what I needed from you."

The raven haired university student went to aggressively respond to her accusation, but then shut his mouth quickly again. This was not getting them anywhere. This was not like Yuka, there had to be another, more elusive and hidden reason as to why she was doing this, why she was acting so strange…there was no point in arguing. He had to tell her exactly how he felt, without and lies to cushion the impact. It had to be the blunt and simple truth…

"I do love you Yuka," Kouta said quietly, giving an abrupt halt to his cousin's sobs as she listened intently, trying to find out if her ears were playing tricks on her.

"Just…not in that way." He met her teary gaze and smiled weakly at her. Surprisingly, she didn't move or resume her crying…she made no move to slap or punch him. Her thin figure was bathed in the moonlight pouring in from the bay window and Kouta was reminded of just how attractive his cousin was. But…she wasn't _her _and never would be. She deserved to at least know this.

"You're right…I love her, and always have. But you're special to me too, Yuka. To be completely honest, I've always seen you as somewhat of a motherly/sisterly figure…even when we were kids." He swallowed hard as he prepared to inflict the final and probably the most painful for her.

"It can never be more Yuka, I'm sorry."

Although she wasn't crying, Kouta saw it all reflect through her eyes. No doubt she was crushed…it was all there, and he winced at the site. Still she smiled, wiping away her tears. "Thank-you for being so straight with me," she whispered; the sound of the crickets outside once again reminding her that it was still dark and that Nana and Maiyu were still in bed.

"It hurts but at least now I understand. I wasn't really going to leave Kouta, I never could. I just wanted you to acknowledge me for once." He nodded slowly in understanding before sneaking over and pecking him on the cheek. "Goodnight." She whispered in his ears, her voice somewhat broken. He cringed at the sound, yet said nothing. Yuka merely turned and went up the stairs to her room. She slowly opened the door, stepped inside and closed it again. Her hands still hurt from her last encounter with the newly proclaimed couple.

'_It still hurts…it always hurts.'_

Whilst she had done her best to sound genuine to Kouta, she was absolutely seething underneath with jealousy. But she had hidden it well, and as long as she was in the house, she would continue to hide it. Maybe from now on, she would just have to avoid Nyuu…

They came then, the hot, salty tears that stung her suddenly dry eyes. She cried…hard. His words had hurt, but she would have to hide her pain under a mask of feigned ignorance and happiness.

Livid with the idea, she jumped to her feet, her cheeks bright red with long suppressed anger and resentment. She eyed the numerous, nostalgic photographs on her dresser in extreme displeasure before briskly relieving the darkened surface of their burden, sending the innocent images to shatter the instant they came into contact with the wooden floor. Shards of broken memories lay scattered about her feet, seemingly crying as some had been torn by the glass. She fell to her knees in agony, clutching her broken dreams to her chest furiously within her shacking hands as the icy, sharp remnants of material easily pierced her skin. Blood trickled down her forearm as she tightened her hold on the crimson blotched illustrations.

She felt neither pain nor remorse for what she had done.

So she cried all night…and Kouta heard everything…

* * *

"Shit!" The sturdy male cursed at his cigarette lighter, shaking it violently in an attempt to make it work despite the light rain. "Stupid cheap piece of crap!" He soon saw that it was fruitless to keep trying and so threw it down carelessly into the sand. He sighed bitterly and followed suit, slumping down into the damp, grainy substance as he faced the sky, seemingly enjoying the cool prickling sensation of the droplets on his skin.

"Are you Bando?" The sound of another voice on the secluded beach made him jump, shattering his little interlude. He spastically threw himself away, constantly on alert for 'that bitch' who had forced him to rely on prosthetic limbs. He calmed when he only saw two men, standing firmly with authority. If they got on his nerves, he could dispatch them easily enough; he always kept a gun in the breast pocket of his jacket.

"What? Why should I tell you who I am?" He demanded furiously. Not two seconds into the conversation and already he was contemplating on how he was going to 'deal' with these annoying pests. The older one of the two men stepped forward to answer once he noticed that his partner seemed to be too scared to even breathe…it was Bando alright.

"The facility you had an association with is once again in requirement of your aid," he began unsteadily. He noticed the assassin's puzzled expression and tried to explain it in simpler terms. "The facility that deals with the mutants known as the Diclonius," he corrected and Bando instantly understood…but was less then enthusiastic with the whole idea.

"Why should I help those bastards!" He screamed in protest. "They don't give a damn about me not to mention they paid me fuck all for my services in the past."

"That's the thing," the older man countered, becoming more and more uneasy around the merciless killer by the second. "The facility's leader is more then prepared to pay you whatever sum you wish. Also, they will reinstate you with your weapons license, thereby entitling you to the latest artillery needed to deal with these…_things._"

He considered this only for a moment before continuing, a small malicious smirk began to play at the corners of his mouth. "So who's my target then?"

The man smiled inwardly to himself, proud in his victory at baiting with the one track minded fool. He sorted through his coat pockets searching for the photo that he had been supplied with by the director. Soon his groping hand found the thin picture and upon withdrawing it in front of Bando, he instantly began to laugh.

"What's so funny?"

He continued with his self contained humor for awhile longer before revealing why. "I know this bitch all too well." Being legitimately excited by the idea of dealing away with the girl he had been seeking revenge on for what seemed like forever AND getting paid for it seemed all too good to be true.

Ignoring the ignorant murderer's behavior, he continued with the dealings. "You'll do it then?"

Bando gave the old policeman one of his 'are-you-fucking-crazy!-of-course-I'll-take-it' looks before once again beginning to laugh. "So when do I start?"

This time, the younger partner stepped out of his older counterpart's shadow of protection and gestured toward the helicopter, "if we could, we're…we're supposed to take you back to the boss right now and get you ready for combat." Again Bando grinned whilst shoving another cigarette hastily in-between his lips.

"Well, I'm not one to hold up an operation," he said arrogantly before strutting off toward the large flying machine…already the blades were spinning. The two officers were quite surprised with how co-operative he was, especially considering the warning director Kakazawa had given them, but complied nonetheless as they followed him to the chopper. Just before they boarded, the younger one's eyes widened in realization that they had forgotten a crucial obligation that Bando had to follow. He whispered to his partner quickly and with a nod of approval, he ran ahead in front of the mercenary to tell him the news.

"Mr.…Mr. Bando sir?"

"What the hell do you want, huh?" He interjected harshly.

"Ummm…we forgot to mention one thing…you…you can't kill Lucy. The director wants her alive, sir-"

"WHAT! I ain't for a second letting that fucking bitch slip through my finger again, the first time she was lucky, but-"

"We have to go," the deep interruptive voice of the older partner rang through the air clearly despite the noise of the swooshing blades. But Bando wasn't one to take orders from people. "Don't you tell me what to do you bastard!" He yelled before razing his forearm ready punch the elderly man in the face. To both the surprise of Bando and the adolescent investigator, the senior man simply raised a strong arm to block the attack. "You can take it up with director Kakazawa when we arrive," he said callously. "In the meantime though, if you want to keep this job at all I suggest that you get on that helicopter now."

The hired killer merely 'humphed' as he boarded…

He would definitely kill that horned bitch whether or not he was 'supposed' to. Besides, when did he ever follow the rules?

'_This stupid director **will **see things my way…I'll make sure of that.'_

* * *

The helicopter landed sometime later, and as the director watched the passengers leave the aircraft, he couldn't help but laugh…everything was going exactly to his plan, with virtually no effort on his part.

Excellent…everything was going according to plan…

Now he just had to sit back and wait…

…Lucy would come to **him.**

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kouta had been staring at the ceiling for a good ten minutes now, contemplating if he should check on his cousin or not…just going up there could prove to be suicidal…

"Kouta…"

He was interrupted from his inner struggle by a voice emitting from the stair case.

It was Lucy.

"Oh hey! Are you feeling warmer now?" He asked, feeling a little embarrassed. _'How stupid must I have looked just then?'_

He approached her on the stairs; a rather curious expression adorned her features. He guessed that she must have heard at least some of what had transpired a little while ago. Rather then telling her, he opted for complete avoidance.

"So, ummm…can I get you anything?" A blush rose on her cheeks as she inched forward, splashing part of her beautiful figure in the moonlight. It was then that Kouta instantly blushed too when he realized what she was wearing…

Or in fact, how _little _she was wearing…

Her upper body donned one of his baggy red checkered shirts with long, buttoned sleeves. He mentally cringed every time he laid eyes on it whilst searching through for something to wear himself. Why had he even bought it in the first place? It looked horrible on him…and yet, she seemed to make it look so…downright sexy as it left the entire length of her toned legs exposed. He swallowed hard, determined to keep himself under control. Lucy noticed his discomfort and inquired.

"Does my…clothing bother you Kouta?" She whispered quietly. It was hard to tell if she even cared, considering she always used the same tone of voice. He simply smiled, trying to hide his uneasiness. "No, not at all…in fact, that shirt looks really good on you…"

Again, Lucy felt the rush of blood in her cheeks. Turning away and desperate for a distraction, she quickly changed the topic. "So why did you need to talk?"

"Uhhhh…"

'_I just needed to see you…I don't understand it, if you're not around I just don't feel…'_

"Well…I…just wanted to make sure you were…still feeling okay after tonight that's all." He lied.

'…_That everything is alright…'_

"I'm okay." She said simply, still not having the courage to fully face him.

He didn't say anything, just nodded at her reply. Her back still remained facing him, and at that moment he wanted nothing more then to turn her around and kiss her, but he wasn't sure if that was appropriate or not. He didn't even readily understand what he felt whenever she was around. Her entire presence was so horrifyingly mysterious and addictive…he just couldn't explain it.

Slowly he approached her, taking careful steps so as to not trip in the dark. He stepped into the moonlight along with her and placed his arms around her shoulders in a loose embrace. Speaking was difficult at this point, his extreme nervousness tightening the muscles his throat. "I really…care about you…you know?" He whispered in her ear, his voice hoarse.

She allowed herself a small, secret smile before she answered. "I know."

Slowly yet regretfully, she broke out of his loving hold and began towards the stairs. She stopped momentarily before heading up. "Goodnight Kouta." And with that she made her way to the second floor and into her room.

…And she cried.

She shouldn't be alive and she was endangering Kouta's life more and more with every second she continued to breathe. But what was she supposed to do…? She now knew that she didn't want to die…of course she didn't. But the hard truth was that she had to. That wasn't the only problem though; Kouta wouldn't let her die…she knew…he'd fight for her.

That was when she felt it…

Someone was coming…for her, and she recognized it like the familiar, painful and irritable stench that it was…

The research facility wasn't through with her.

Not yet…

* * *

**A/N: **So there was the new chapter, hope everyone liked it and so **_please review!_**

Also, just a quick note, I was flamed by a very unpleasant character called 'Orange-Light,' I would just like him/her to know, I don't care what you think and thanks for the extra review (even if it was a flame) because it brought me up to 70 reviews! So thanks and go screw yourself for all I care!

Warui-Usagi


	9. Set in Motion

**Always There: Chapter 9**

**Set in Motion**

It hurt.

Both the physical and emotional implications of what she had done were sending shockwaves of pain throughout her whole body. With that one swift motion, she had completely destroyed the happy façade she had surrounded herself with all these years…and the deep gash that traveled up her forearm would be a constant reminder of the day he had ripped her heart clear from her chest. Tiny rivets of darkly shaded crimson liquid were rapidly beginning to pool on the deep mahogany floorboards…yet she didn't care. Salty tears fell from her dusty brown eyes, colliding with thepuddle of blood at her feet.

She had to do something about the mess, particularly if she didn't want _him _to see. But her jealousy was at its peek, and even the sticky red substance oozing from her open wound seemed to carry within it the very essence and likeness of _her_, making the brunette internally cringe in disgust. She waded through the mass of broken wood, glass, photo's and blood on her knees, searching for anything that would cover up her arm. She honestly couldn't look at it any longer. Eventually she came upon one of her summer dressers tucked neatly away in a corner. Tearing of the hem of the beautifully embroiled piece of clothing, she carelessly wrapped it around her dyed skin as tight as she could manage.

Crying again to herself, she went about pushing the mess into her laundry hamper in the corner of her room. She always did those chores, so no one would come looking for clothes…she hoped.

'_What am I going to do…?'_

Whilst piling the dangerous material into the cloth bag, she caught a glimpse of a photo of her, Kouta, Kanae and her uncle laughing together at the summer festival all those years ago. It used to be her favorite time of year; the time in which she would look forward to the beginning with such excitement and anticipation, and would mourn the ending with just as much sadness and anxiety.

For the first time that night, she smiled weakly, running her still bloody fingertips over the fragile image as if savoring the feel of it. If only things could go back to the way they were then. If only he would go back to feeling the way he did…she'd be content with everything. She studied the photo closely…she really did miss her younger cousin and uncle…who were both smiling exuberantly at each other, lost in the joyful bliss of the moment.

And Kouta…Kouta was…what _was _Kouta doing? Or rather, what was he _looking _at…?

He was smiling, but warily, as if trying to hide something. She followed his eye line curiously through the mass of the crowd…and almost jumped back at what she saw…

Red hair. Red eyes. Horns.

It was _her! _But how…? Why…?

'_I met this really strange girl in the woods…she was so lonely.'_

She remembered. Nyuu was indeed the little girl he had met in the woods all those years ago. If only she had stopped him. He had made her promise not to tell his father about him sneaking out of the house to 'paint' or else he would refuse to accompany her to the summer festival that was to be held in the small town within the next few days. The young brunette had known that her beloved cousin was up to no good, but didn't push the issue further as she lamented too much the idea of being rejected.

She would have objected had she known that this was what he was hiding. But now it was too late. It seemed that it was already too late the moment he had met her. Sighing hopelessly to herself, she continued to rummage through the debris, carefully placing the remains in the most concealed and hardly used areas of her room. Nobody ever came in here, so with any luck nobody would find anything suspicious.

There was a knock on the door. Yuka froze.

"Yuka? Are you okay? I heard something smash and-"

Just the sound of his voice was enough to bring tears of anger to her eyes.

"Go away you jerk!" She screeched from her huddled position on the floor, hoping that her tone of voice would be enough to scare him off and drop his prodding.

He persisted.

"I know that you're upset Yuka, but if you're hurt then I have to do something. I'm coming in!" And without any hesitation he boldly flung the door open, slightly wincing as he waited for the 'punishment' to arrive at its usual destination: his face. But nothing came, and he was just as surprised as she was when he saw her sitting there, surrounded by the glass. Yuka was merely staying still out of the fear of having to explain the mess.

"Wha…what happened here?" He asked, completely dumbfounded. The young female college student simply shrugged as she fiddled nervously with her hair, trying to hide the real reason for her actions. It was a vain hope…that he would just simply leave of his own accord. He continued to stare her down in hopes of getting her to explain, but she opted to avoid his gaze and continued to shuffle around in the mess, delaying the inevitable.

She didn't want to look at him, she didn't want to touch him…she couldn't even stand knowing that he was just there…only a mere two meters away. But she had neither the strength left in her voice nor the resolve to send him off at the moment. The only thing she had any vigor for right now was crying…_real _crying. The mourning that she had done previously over their relationship, (which at one point seemed to be imaginary due to Kouta's memory loss) had been hindered by hope. Hope that, when his memory did indeed return, he would remember and she would finally be happy with him. So she had bottled herself up for so long, waiting for it to happen…and it never did. Now that she knew his real feelings, she could let it all out. It actually felt…good.

_Really _good.

"Yuka…let's get you out of here," Kouta said suddenly, misinterpreting her crying as shock and pain from her gashes. He made his way towards her, awkwardly shifting between the muddle in an attempt to not bring injury to himself. He bent down to examine her as she pitifully sobbed into her hands, tears pouring out from the cracks in her fingers. He almost immediately noticed the blood stained tattered cloth tied around what was obviously the wound.

"How did you manage this?" He asked skeptically, pulling her arm away in order to examine it more closely. Yuka was never one to be described as clumsy. Even in an accident she never hurt herself this badly. Looking at the surroundings Kouta noticed that it was all only photographs and broken frames…of him and her. He knew how bad his cousin's temper was and he had a fair idea of what had happened.

He should have figured she'd do something like this. Only Yuka would completely demolish everything out of something as petty as jealousy and grudges.

Sighing inwardly to himself and giving the brunette no time to respond, he whipped her up in his arms and hauled her out of the 'battle ground' and down towards the bathroom. The abrasion on her arm really needed dressing.

He wordlessly got to work; placing her down carefully on the counter as he sorted through various cupboards searching for the right materials and utensils. Eventually he found what he needed and did away quickly with the pathetic excuse for a bandage already in place. Yuka winced at how rough he was being and immediately sought to reprimand it.

"That really hurt you idiot!" She screamed, possibly overreacting as she slapped him hard across his exposed cheek. She breathed furiously through her nose, trying to calm down whilst for the moment Kouta simply subdued to her anger and continued to clean her gash as if nothing had ever happened. Soon enough he had finished, and Yuka had cooled off for the most part; allowing him to efficiently put everything back in its rightful place.

"Thank-you."

Kouta momentarily stopped half way through his sorting to cast a glance over at the now composed girl sitting on the bench, taken aback by her rather random display of kindness. He watched her for a moment from his place a good distance away as she twiddled with the rogue strings, not really paying attention to anything.

"Kouta?" She whispered so softly that he almost missed it.

"Hmmm? Yeah?"

"I'm sorry." She mumbled through a tight throat, her eyes once again welling up with tears. Her head bolted upright then, finally facing him. Her sobs seemed much louder as they echoed off the bathroom walls. "I…I-I just wanted…"

He hastily put everything on the floor as he made his way over to console her, gently rubbing her head in an attempt to soothe; just like he did when they were kids.

"I'm sorry too, Yuka," the raven haired man admitted solemnly, casting his gaze downward at the tiles. Underneath his palm, the adolescent male felt her head shoot up in curiosity and confusion and he immediately tried to explain himself.

"What I mean is…"

A creaking of the stairs interrupted his speech. He waited for more movement but was greeted by only silence. Growing impatient and ignoring the sound, his cousin instantly tried to coax him to continue.

"What you mean is…?" She repeated forcefully, inching closer towards his face, staring him down intensely. He opened his mouth but then shut it again as yet another groan in the floorboards above forced him to delay what Yuka was hoping to be a significant explanation of what he had been up to recently. The sounds continued until they both head someone step off the staircase and down the hall.

It was Yuka who reacted first, helping herself down off the bathroom counter and out into the rest of the house to greet the intrusion into her very important and critical conversation with her beloved cousin. Either Nana or Maiyu were about to get a rather big scolding at being up so late…and although she couldn't see them, she decided to make her presence known anyway.

"You're up too late you know that?" She whispered a little more harshly then intended. "Get back to bed now…we have a big day tomorrow and I don't want you complaining that you're tired."

No movement towards the second floor was made by the shadowy figure, and this only made the brunette even angrier. "Go!" She said more vigorously this time, hoping to get some kind of response.

"I'm not going back to bed." Came a blunt, disembodied voice from the darkness, "and I don't plan to either." Footsteps began to echo louder and louder in Yuka's ears and she instinctively backed away whilst saying nothing, knowing all too well who it was. The mysterious figures identity became known when she stepped past the stationary form of the girl blocking her path and into the pale, dim light emitting from the bathroom's weak bulb.

"Nyuu!" Kouta noted surprised, "what are you doing awake? I thought you had gone to-"

"I'm going for a walk," she intercepted frankly. "And you _are_ staying here."

"Going for a walk? At this hour?"

"Yes. And you are staying here." She repeated in a more controlling tone, hoping to get her point across, but Kouta obviously couldn't help but be ruthlessly logical. It was early morning… not more then 2-3 am…she was still weak from her encounter with the storm, and while it had died down, there would indeed be a few 'unpleasant' individuals who would surely seek to do her harm. Going out now was, to be blunt…a little more then idiotic.

"You can't go now…not at this hour anyway."

"I have to," she replied simply with a shrug of the shoulders, making her way past him and towards the door. He automatically stepped in front of her, unable to let go of his anal parental habits. "You're crazy! You're not going anywhere you hear me!"

"Let her go," came a voice from the hallway, its tone uncharacteristically serious and condescending. Kouta already knew who it was, but was definitely in no mood to deal with trivial rivalry right now. Answering her back would only provoke, so he simply ignored her and tried a different approach to the situation seeing as Lucy obviously had no intention of relenting.

"Why the sudden urge to go out?"

"It doesn't concern you. Stay here."

"Why?"

This was now reaching far past the threshold of annoying…and that stupid idiot would be here soon if she didn't lead him away. Kouta didn't realize…nobody did. If she stayed here they would all certainly die.

But this time, she had every intention of coming back…there was no question about it, she **would **come home and nothing would stop her.

"I'll be back in a few hours…goodbye." She zigzagged her way past him once again and opened the door. Surprisingly, no protest came and for that, Lucy was thankful. He obviously did care for her, but he clearly saw that it was fruitless in bargaining with her as well…which was good. She didn't have the time to deal with his constant worries, and so with one last glance at him, she stepped out into the cold blanket of night and made her way down the street.

* * *

"Do you sense anything?" A stereotypical lab assistant fiddled with his glasses on the bridge of his nose as he stared his candidate down waiting for an answer. This one was difficult, but after the loss of both Lucy and Number 35, she was as close as they could get in terms of which one had strong vectors.

The adolescent girl spared him a quick glance before sighing in exasperation. It was a pity. Her first time in the outside world away from those men in lab coats, who often camouflaged themselves behind thick panes of glass as they implemented one painful experiment after another on her tired body…and this is what she had to do. Track down the so-called 'Queen' of her species and serve as a distraction until the swat team could effectively get into place whilst this 'supposed' leader…Kakazawa, bargained with her.

She was beyond annoyed, since this ever inquisitive man seemed duty bound in preventing her from even taking a simple pleasure in the view from outside the small, dirty window she was sitting next to.

"No…" she replied finally with a sigh. For all intensive purposes, she would never see anything as beautiful and infinitive as the sky again. Noticing the dust on the window, she selected a finger and began tracing very plain patterns as she carved through the grime, creating a somewhat twisted version of what was intended. Pulling her face away slightly to admire her work, she couldn't help but giggle. The bubbling noise escaping her lips instantly intrigued everyone on board the helicopter.

The gun that was being used as a method of compulsory co-operation was forced harder into the back of her neck, immediately bringing a halt to her mirth, but she grinned mischievously in reminiscence. "What the hell is so funny, Number 19?"

Her expression once again turned to one of feigned innocence and naivety as she directed the geek's attention to her sketch. She struggled to hold back her laughter as she talked him through it.

"This is you…and this is me," she directed his attention to the sketch of him, and he was instantaneously insulted. She had drawn him as an overly exaggerated fuming stick person. Number 19 saw his reaction and smiled…just what she had wanted to happen. She flicked her long pale blue locks before continuing, a few errant strands catching on her ivory colored horns. "I don't like angry people." Her voice had gone low and venomous as she spoke, "…so here…I cut your head off!" She screamed excitedly, finally bursting into fits of unbridled hilarity.

Of course, she was the only one who found any of this amusing.

Wasting no time, the swat team member who was currently holding the barrel of gunpowder to her head reached in front of himself and grabbed her by the hair as he pulled her up and around to face him, the weapon placed delicately under her chin. Tears began brimming at the corners of her eyes as she felt her hair being pulled out by the roots.

"Just remember…I can pull this trigger without warning if you keep this up. So you had better shut the fuck up you bitch, or you'll soon find a bullet in your skull!"

"Am I supposed to be scared?" She asked calmly, although her voice was a tad hoarse from the pain, she began to laugh again, staring the masked man down intensively. "The same goes for you too. With the use of only _one _of my vectors…your head could now be rolling up and down the floor as this flying thing moves. If I were you, I'd be the one to watch it."

Without out word, the gruff man threw her back into her chair as he spat on her face. The girl couldn't help but wince at the act as he walked away into the back of the flying machine. Once she had recovered from the blow, she popped her head over the edge of the seat to make sure he was gone before promptly sighing in happiness and sitting back down again.

'_This is going to be fun…come out, come out where ever you are Lucy.'_

"And there you are…" she announced playfully as she felt the familiar throbbing at the back of her mind. The lab assistant's head suddenly shot up when heard her words and his anxiety could be heard through his voice. Truth be told, no one liked getting caught in-between these 'monsters.' Anyone who did almost guaranteed death for themselves, hence why people in these positions were very well paid; but to many, **life **was considered to be more valuable then any currency.

"Where is she?" He asked uneasily, but was ignored completely as the diclonius beside him focused all her attention on communicating with her target.

…

"_Wanna play with me?"_

…

"_So, it's not just that idiot I have to deal with is it?"_

…

"_Hehe…do you really have that stronger death wish?" _

…

"_You can't beat me…I'm your mother after all."_

…

"_We'll just have to see about that then won't we?"_

…

"_No one shall interfere anymore…least of all you."_

…

"I found her," Number 19 finally announced. "She's heading towards the beach." As soon as conformation of her whereabouts had been received, the previous uneventful but tense atmosphere erupted into chaos as soldiers ran about in flurry of panic trying to organize themselves for what had been assured as a very dangerous fight.

"I can't kill her…can I?" The blue haired assassin asked; the question aimed at no one in particular. Everyone was taken aback for a moment, not by her request but by her tone of voice. She was clearly disappointed…and it was enough to put the men on even more anxious and unnerving terms then they were to begin with as the full ferocity of the _things _involved was brought into full view.

"No…" A grey haired man said, stepping up from his secluded position right up the back of the helicopter. "If you kill her, I'll kill you." He said sternly, squeezing her shoulder as a reminder. She merely shrugged in frustration.

"Awww…bummer…can I _play _with her at least?" She pleaded, finally facing the man beside her. "Hmmm? You're the boss aren't you?" He looked down at her and smiled…generally amused by her child-ness. "Yes I am," he said finally, "and you can play with her as much as you want…just don't kill her, I wouldn't want to have to kill you too."

He gave her a pat on the head as her expression turned to one of extreme excitement. "Yay! This is going to be fun!"

'_Finally…I'll accomplish what I want, and Lucy will be the key to completely remaking the world…it's just a matter of time now.'_

* * *

Something was wrong…Nyuu wouldn't just get up and go for a walk in the middle of the night for absolutely no reason.

He had to find out why and the only person who could tell him was…

"Nana! Nana wake up!" He whispered callously, shaking her in a desperate attempt to get some kind of response.

"Papa…" she grumbled, turning over on her side and ignoring Kouta's desperate pleas. He had do something…he really needed her advice.

"Oh Nana…Yuka's just made breakfast…" He whispered temptingly to her sleeping form and soon enough, received the kind of reaction he had been waiting for although, he hadn't predicted her movements.

"Breakfast? Where?" She exclaimed eagerly, bolting upright from her horizontal position and promptly smacking her adoptive father in the head, causing him to fall away from her, holding his jaw in momentary agony. The short, pink haired diclonius lazily rubbed the sleep from her eyes as took a brief minute to gain her wits before throwing back the covers of her futon. It was only then did she notice Kouta lying on the floor.

And that was also when, she felt it too…

The all too familiar throbbing of a diclonius' presence at the back of her mind and although it wasn't as strong as Lucy, it was still very noticeable. "What's another one doing here? I thought they had all gone and would leave us alone!" The raven haired university student stumbled to his feet when he saw Nana's reaction, meaning that he had guessed right. It was indeed just like the last time they had both run off…

…But like hell was he losing Nyuu again!

"Nana tell me, where is Nyuu? You told me once that you can sense each other, so where is she?" He held her by the shoulders, he grip tightening slightly in trepidation with every second that passed in which the young horned girl said nothing. Nana tried to focus on Lucy's presence, which proved to be quite easy and soon enough she was ready to give her answer.

"She headed for the beach," she said shakily, wrapping her arms around her in a pathetic attempt to soothe, "and so is the other one."

"Other one?" Kouta muttered quietly to himself, "that must be why she left."

Without a second thought, Kouta sprang up, out of the room and started down the stairs when he heard a familiar voice call out after him. "Kouta wait! You can't go by yourself, they'll surely kill you!" It was Nana who had followed him and was trying to make him listen to reason. "I'm coming too."

"No you're not."

"Why?"

"I saw what they did to you last time, Nana. I won't let it happen again. Besides, what kind of father would I be if I did put you in that situation? We all love you Nana…I need you to stay here in case someone comes here alright? You need to protect Maiyu and Yuka for me, can you do that?"

Nana began crying almost straight away as she averted her gaze down toward the floor. "I suppose," She admitted weakly, "do you really love me?"

"Of course we do…" He smiled. "Of course _I _do…you mean a lot to all of us."

She smiled in return, grinning through her tears. "Then, I won't let you down!"

"Good," she nodded, satisfied. "Oh and tell Yuka not to worry. I'll be back in awhile!" He said over his shoulder as he headed for the door.

"Kouta?" Nana asked timidly, just before he stepped out.

"Yeah? What is it?"

"Be careful…and make sure you bring Nyuu home with you too!"

"I will." He said enthusiastically before walking out and closing the door, confident he could rely on Nana to protect the two remaining members of their family.

'_Don't worry Nyuu…I promise that you will come home.'_

_

* * *

_

Bando had noticed his pray sometime ago, a solitary figure walking along the street in darkness. He had been trailing her so far without being caught (or at least, that's what he thought.) As he had seen, she was heading towards the beach, obvious aware by now that either the facility or him was on her trail. He figured that by now, she was smart enough to know it was both.

As he watched her take the dirty cement steps down onto the polluted sand, he dived in a small patch of shrubs that ran along the pathway overlooking the ocean and watched her from there. She eventually came to a stop and made no attempt to look around…it was almost as if she was waiting to be attacked, and whilst Bando did think that this was the perfect opportunity to take a shot, he knew better then to open fire on her without waiting for the personnel from the facility to arrive for back up. He needed to make sure that this time, that bitch really did get what was coming to her. The faint murmurs of a plane-like engine could be heard in the distance and upon glancing up at the horizon; a lonely black helicopter was coming into land with the sunrise.

A sign that today…was surely the beginning of the end…blood had been promised to taint the azure ocean tonight.

Bando reloaded the barrel of his gun and smiled.

'_Time to die you fucking bitch!'_

* * *

**A/N: **Go me! Another update! This would have to be the longest one yet (although the final chapter promises to be longer!) Yes that's right, the last chapter is indeed the next one –cries- But I will put up an epilogue if people request it. Now although I cannot reveal the ending to you, I can honestly say that Lucy will not die. I did not go through this entire sequence of events to have Lucy be killed because that would just be stupid, in my opinion. But, I can also assure you that I am planning a big twist in which I hope you will all like, because it will definitely be considered original. ;)

I would just like to say thank-you to all my reviewers; I love you guys so much!

And also to everyone on the forums for their constant support!

Last chapter up soon, look forward to it. Again if you peoplewant an epilogue, just ask!

_**Please Review!**_

Warui-Usagi


	10. Destiny's Consequences

**A/N: **Sorry this took me so long everyone! I've just been really really busy and then when things finally seemed to calm down, my room started its renovation process. I've also been kind of lazy when it has come to writing. To be completely honest though, I just haven't been in the mood for doing it. I've taken a rather lengthy break and I suppose that it's time to throw myself back into it again…and what better way to do that then by finishing my Elfen Lied fanfic.

Yep, that's right! After this, only one chapter to go! Woohoo! If you're upset though don't worry, I've got another one well on the way! (I've been writing that rather then this, sorry!) It's also another Elfen Lied fanfic, titled **_'If You Only Knew'_** and this one takes on a whole new perspective which I'll hope you'll all enjoy as well. Anyway, thanks again for everyone's wonderful support! Over 5000 hits and 97 reviews so far makes me very happy! I couldn't have done it without you guys and I hope you enjoy this second last chapter of '**_Always There_**'!

* * *

**Always There: Chapter 10**

**Destiny's Consequences**

"Something bad is going to happen, I just know it." Nana sat huddled at the table, staring blankly at the small cup of green tea in front of her. It was dawn, and the originally cold room was now beginning to bathe in the wondrous, rich light of the early morning sunrise. The sight calmed the nervous diclonius somewhat—the faint sound of birds chirping and Wanta's early morning yaps brought a comforting familiarity that she had recognized as the sounds of home. The place that had become so dear to her; the place she wanted to protect more then anything…

"Good morning Nana."

She jumped at the notion, surprised that anyone had been up this early. She gradually swiveled around and her cherry-pink orbs soon came upon a most recognizable brunette; eyes shining brightly with a sort of cryptic hope that Nana could never wish to fully comprehend.

"Good morning Yuka," she greeted happily, making her way into the kitchen. "Would you like some tea?"

"Sure."

Nana had become quite…capable with kitchen chores. Whilst there were a few things that still remained slightly difficult, she had managed to eventually master the art of cooking simple meals as well as boiling water and gathering utensils. She happily indulged herself in helping out as best she could—which always seemed to make everyone happy. And to be honest, it made her feel good too; when her adoptive, misfit family would often comment on how good the food tasted that she and Maiyu had worked so hard to prepare…she often felt quite proud of her subtle achievements.

"Here you go," the horned girl said simply, handing her 'mother' the piping hot beverage. Yuka whispered a 'thank-you' before Nana took her spot again at the other end of the table. The young college student was looking unnaturally happy this morning, and she couldn't help but wonder why. It was then that Nana couldn't decide whether to tell her the truth or, just for Kouta, tell a little white lie so that he would be saved from being engulfed in his cousins' fury.

To bad anyone could read her like a book…

"Hey Nana, do you know where Kouta is? I went to wake him up and he wasn't-"

"He's gone out," she replied a little too quickly and nervously to sound convincing enough. Yuka only eyed her curiously over the rim of her cup as she took a sip. "What I mean is…" Nana started, correcting her rather hasty and obvious mistake, "he went down to the beach…said something about…going to get some food for breakfast."

It was only after she had said it that Nana realized that Lucy would also be missing, and after the events of last night, she guessed that Yuka probably wouldn't want to wake her up; meaning that she didn't know she was gone…

Now, Nana just had to keep things that way until they returned…easier said then done really. With that one simple and small fib, she had made her appointed task of watching over the family that much more difficult.

'_I just have to keep her out of Lucy's room…hopefully though, Yuka won't have any desire to go in there…I hope.'_

"Oh? But I did the shopping yesterday; I thought I bought plenty of food…" She trailed off thoughtfully, once again scanning the innocent expression across from her for any more information.

Nana then decided to elaborate a little more…

"Well, I know and I told him that," she lied, again. "But he said something about wanting to get us something really…special for…breakfast today. But he didn't say why or what it would be…I think he said something about it being a surprise."

'_He probably won't come back with any food and she'll probably be angry with me for lying but, I guess it's better then having her run off and dying…'_

Hopefully that would lead her off the track…and it did, but not in the way that she had expected.

"Really!" Yuka suddenly exclaimed, her features broadening into a huge smile. "You know, I was beginning to think that he'd of forgotten after all this time…I mean, with the memory loss and everything, but he didn't! Oh I'm so happy!" The brunette suddenly jumped to her feet and ran over to Nana and enthusiastically began dragging her up until she stood, before grabbing a hold of both her hands and spastically beginning to dance in joy of the revelation. Nana was more then a little confused (and scared) as she watched her; unable to pin point the source of her apparent happiness.

"Uh…Yuka…what's…going on? What…did Kouta remember?" She was having a hard time keeping up with her rapid, uncontrolled and unpredictable movements but the mood was definitely infectious, causing Nana to smile in spite of all the joyful chaos.

Yuka stopped then, looking down at the horned girl guiltily before backing away slightly. Of course she wouldn't understand why she was so happy about what her cousin was doing—it was the critical information that she had left out and forgotten completely once caught up in all the excitement. She merely smiled before deeming it the time to reply.

"It's my birthday today!"

Nana just stood there, still puzzled about everything…a birth-whatever…that's why she was so happy?

She looked back at the older woman, who was finding it hard to know if the information had registered yet.

"What's a birthday?"

Yuka sighed…it obviously hadn't.

It was going to be a long day…

* * *

It was quite a brisk morning Kouta noted as he made his way down towards his destination. He was also surprised to find that quite a few people were already up and around at such an early time of the day—shop keepers organizing their goods, people walking their dogs or exercising. Although it was bizarre, it did make him worry…Nyuu was obviously caught up in something bad again, and with all these people around it would make witnesses hard to protect from casualty.

Eventually, the blockade of shops hiding the sun disappeared and he stepped out into its brilliant, warm glow; stretching out over the azure ocean and bathing the terracotta sand in all of its glory.

It was also when he saw her—a lonely, stoic figure staring out over the horizon…staring at the black omen approaching through the rays…threatening to take her away from him once again.

He only considered for a second before reacting; any energy Kouta may have had was suddenly forced together all at once as he took of into a sprint along the shoreline, eyes scanning frantically for the steps. He had to reach her as fast as he could. That was all he knew, that was all he planned. It was all that he could hope for…

It was just too bad that nobody seemed to be on his side today…

His feet abruptly lost their footing, catching on a heavy, brown…stick that was indifferently hanging out of the small worn shrubs lining the concrete retaining wall above the beach. He fell— landing hard on the concrete and only realized how much it would hurt a second before the impact.

"Ah! Fuck! What the hell just fell on top of my leg!"

Bando reached around to inspect his aching limb, noticing all too well that there was something on top of it. He honestly believed that someone had thrown a ton of bricks on it and for a minute, he was sure that it was broken. But upon ducking out from under his 'camouflaged' position, he realized that it was actually a _someone _on top of him; not a _something_.

Then he understood that it wasn't just anyone sprawled out on top of his leg—the boy was eerily familiar…then he remembered…

"You!" Bando spat loudly, instantly moving completely out from under the vegetation. Unfortunately though, Kouta was too dazed from the fall and only moaned in recognition of the assassins' presence—if that could be taken for acknowledgement at all. A thin, mischievous smile adorned Bando's lips as he saw what an advantage he was at if he took the boy as a hostage and used him as a bargaining chip…

"You're good at getting yourself into trouble aren't you? Stupid bastard…anyway," Bando started, scrambling to his feet and bringing Kouta with him. He lowered his face closer to the raven haired man and whispered. "Guess what you're going to do?"

Kouta's eyes fluttered apart instantly and everything suddenly came into a sharp, bright focus. It was that solider from the beach, the one who had attacked both him and Nyuu on the day she'd first arrived. His facial expression held a malicious grin, awaiting his reaction. His throat instantly tightened in fear as he soon became aware that he was definitely in a lot of trouble.

"W-what?"

Bando's grin broadened. "You're going to help me kill your girlfriend!"

Kouta's eyes widened in horror as the murderer began dragging him down the concrete stairs and onto the sand. He tried to struggle, doing his best to wrench himself free from the iron grasp, but it was futile, and his actions were obviously irritating his kidnapper, as he abruptly swung around and smacked the young man in the stomach with his rifle, knocking all the air out of his body in the process.

"Don't screw with me punk! I may not be able to kill you yet, but don't think that I can't beat you within an inch of your life! I don't need you conscious when I kill her y'know." Kouta coughed and spluttered as he tried to regain his wits—the pain had so far prevented any kind of recovery, as well as allowing any oxygen to enter his lungs.

"Shit!"

Bando had come to an abrupt stop just behind the stair well as he noticed that the helicopter with the facilities associates had landed, sending off a number of swat teams to obviously dispose of his already self designated target. He cussed under his breath, and decided then that it would be best to wait until she had disposed of everyone and tired, and then he would make his move.

Once again Kouta was left helpless. Bando had not said anything in case of alerting the other troops, but the university student had deciphered the blunt and horrid message sent in his direction through flailing signals and gestures. He knew from first hand experience that he would be stupid to take the rouge soldier's warnings lightly. Kouta nodded dully once he got the point, and with his bait secure, Bando decided to enjoy the surely gruesome events that were about to unfold.

* * *

'_Here we go…'_

It somehow seemed fitting to the cherry haired girl that she would dispose of the constant interruption to her attempted peaceful life on the beach where it all began. Those who had sent her body plummeting into the ocean would die in exactly the same spot where she was given a second chance at life. She was just returning the favor—a favor she was more then happy to return, actually.

She didn't move as the soldiers gathered and organized themselves into ranks. They could do whatever they wanted…nobody could harm her. This had happened countless times before…and it would play out like it always did—everyone would die. She harbored no ill will against these men; after all they were only following orders. But the more dominant part of her mind assured her that they were part of what was interfering in her life with Kouta…an unforgivable intrusion that threatened his very existence.

And that would **not** be tolerated on any level.

Just that thought alone was enough to allow her to summon her vectors. She usually gave the soldier's their chance and enjoyed playing with them, but she didn't _want_ to play anymore…she didn't _want_ to kill anymore. She didn't _want_ to do anything…she was going to hell just for breathing. So why bother prolonging their fate?

'_I'm sorry.'_

And before any of them could look up to see what would kill them, her invisible appendages got to work—quickly and effortlessly cutting through their flesh. Blood poured from the corpses and drenched her face and clothes in the sticky tell tale liquid, but she wasn't one to notice…this happened every time, it was all so familiar…perhaps even a little too familiar.

Guns went off. Men began trying to repent and seek revenge for those of their comrades that were already dead. It was hopeless…they should know that. She did. The weapons went silent within a minute; her vectors seeking out the last one alive. She hadn't moved the entire time. Her see-through arms dove over her back and caught the last one by the throat as he tried to pathetically escape. She could hear his desperate whimpering despite the pressure on his throat as he hung there in the air, struggling fruitlessly.

"Please…" he heaved, tears of terror pouring down his cheeks. "I…I-I don't…I don't want to die…I don't want to-"

"Then why are you here?"

And without even a single glance, a single thought…she ended his life. The inhumanly strong fingers of her ghostly limbs easily slicing through his skin and arteries—he was dead…instantly and painlessly…gone. It probably should have been her just then considering the circumstances. By staying alive, she was ensuring the survival of her species and also guaranteeing the destruction of the human race…

She was killing Kouta…

Perhaps. But she had had a taste of life with him and now it was too late. The minute she fell into his arms upon stumbling back to the Kaede house it was too late. And, being the selfish, vengeful creature that she was; anyone who dared try and destroy her new-found happiness was an enemy and would suffer the exact same fate as the mutilated, bloodied men at her feet. Deliberating that fact was, in short, absolutely pointless.

She then turned to face the helicopter…noticing another figure immerging from its depths. As the shadow emerged into the harsh morning light, she recognized him almost immediately…the same person who had kept her locked up all those years…the same person who had examined her just after she was first captured…

He smiled when he saw her.

"It's good to see you again Lucy. The facility just hasn't been the same without you. I can see that you've been causing quite a lot of trouble here, but the fun's over. It's time to come home now."

She wasted no time in summoning her deadly limbs; reading herself to decapitate him straight away. And as her arms rushed towards his neck at a horrifyingly rapid pace she noticed that he didn't even seem to blink. She allowed herself a small smirk…that would all change it a matter of seconds.

Or so she had hoped.

Just millimeters from his throat, her arms were stopped by an, at first, unseen force. But as she focused her crimson orbs, she could see that it was indeed another vector in her way. Or rather, another diclonius…the same one she had sensed earlier. The dull throbbing at the back of her skull had been there for the entire duration of the fight, but it was only now that it was coming into view. Lucy could sense that she was vicious, but also, no match.

In other words: a distraction.

She growled under her breath, impatient as she recalled her arms and awaited the appearance of another one of her kind. She was eager to end this now and return to Kouta as quickly as possible—before he came after her.

Not to Lucy's surprise, her opponent came skipping off the aircraft, looking as innocent as _humanly _possible. Her brilliant azure hair was brushed up into pigtails pinned on the side of her head with yellow ribbons to cover her horns. She was incredibly thin and pale, but then again, all her kind were from lack of exposure to the outside elements and proper nutritional care. Her simple pleated purple skirt danced in the breeze as she twirled; whilst her upper body adorned a simple cream blouse…she didn't look anymore then maybe ten years old.

Her dancing abruptly ceased after a moment and Lucy was instantly on guard, awaiting her move. But the young girl merely turned to face the 'Queen' with her eyes sparkling with her own genuine excitement about the challenge.

"So you're supposed to be my mummy are you?" She asked simply, eyes seemingly pleading with curiosity. But Lucy had no intention of humoring the girl.

"You can cut the childish crap, I know you don't care," she stated bluntly. The young girl's face instantaneously fell into a frown at her suggestion.

"Awww, I wanted to have a little fun first," she pouted. "Why do you have to be so mean, mother's are supposed to love their daught-"

But she didn't finish…Lucy had attacked straight away, taking advantage of the calm atmosphere and catching the girl off guard, punching her hard in the mouth. The impact sent her stumbling slightly and when she arched back up, a small trickle of blood poured from her lip. Without even looking, she wiped it away and grinned.

"Is that all you've got?" She coaxed, summoning her vectors too, letting them dance menacingly in the air surrounding her body, awaiting her enemy's offense.

Lucy smiled slightly. "Don't you know that your mum is always the boss?" Hopefully, if she could stir her anger up, it wouldn't last too long.

And it worked—the blue haired girls' expression instantly turned grim as she lurched forward to attack, taking the bait. Lucy jumped out of the way quickly, meaning that her attacker's appendages hit the sand instead, whipping it up into a small, blinding cloud.

With the battle underway, Kakazawa made his way back into the aircraft to gather ammunition for the next step in his plan…

* * *

"Now they're going at it!" Bando exclaimed from his currently safe position a safe distant away from the battle. Kouta assumed that he meant Nyuu and someone else and it made him worry. He couldn't see of she was still alright or not. Another explosion came from where he knew Nyuu was but this time it was closer. It hadn't escaped his notice either that Bando's grip on his wrist had significantly loosened. And whilst he would have like to try and escape he knew that even now he couldn't…not yet anyway. He'd be caught.

He just had to bide his time a little longer…

"Fuck!" The next blast was now in line with where they were sheltered, causing Kouta's assailant to instinctively cover his head in defense as the sand thrashed up about them.

Now was his chance!

Fumbling to his feet, he sprang back up the stairs and along the concrete retaining wall as fast as his feet could carry him. As he ran, he looked down onto the beach, his eyes confirming what he had first thought—it was Lucy down there fighting and for now at least, she seemed okay. But Kouta knew that Bando would be hot on his trail within the next few moments…he had to find a way to defend himself because there was no way that he could out run him. He'd catch up in no time.

He had no time to go the whole way around…

"Hey! Get back here!"

Oh no…

'_Dammit!… He's going to catch me unless I…'_

Kouta quickly looked back over his shoulder, assessing the chances of his success— he had to admit, they weren't good. If he wanted to get away from Bando, he would have to jump, there was no choice. Luckily, the two diclonius were fighting at the lower end of the beach, which meant he wouldn't land straight in the middle of their brawl. The only problem was, was that it was a good eight feet between him and the sand below…and Bando was gaining fast.

That was it, there was no choice.

Taking a huge breath and a few steps back, Kouta prepped himself for the plummet, praying to any deity that might exist that it wasn't like the cartoons he'd watched as a kid—that there was no **_splat_** when he hit the bottom.

He ran…then he jumped…

'_Nyuu…I'm coming.'_

He landed, tumbling onto the sand, but otherwise physically sound…he hoped. It took him a few moments to regain his wits and wait for the sand under his body to stop spinning, but eventually it did. For some reason, the ground where he sat was dyed a deep, red and he couldn't understand why. At first, he had assumed that it was just from his fall, but soon after he realized that he was sitting in someone's blood…

A Soldier's blood.

It didn't take a genius to figure out who made this mess, and Kouta couldn't help but shiver violently at the mangled corpses laying only a few feet away. It was hard to believe that the girl he cared for more then anything was capable of this kind of carnage, but then again, it wasn't. It was also the same girl who had done away with his sister and father. But he suppressed those thoughts and moved on…there was no point dwelling on those unpleasant memories…nothing could be accomplished from doing so.

He shakily rose to his feet, remembering that Bando would be on his way down here, ready to take him out for sure. He saw a gun lying not to far from where he was, and so he made a reach for it. It was heavy in his relatively weak arms and he struggled to bring it up with him as he stood. He lent into the face of the wall for support, doing his best to make sure he could move it as freely as possible to give himself the range he needed.

It was then he noticed a grey-haired man stepping out of the aircraft; caring with him what looked like a…large pistol? He wasn't sure. But he _was _sure that he knew who the weapon's intended target would be…

_**Nyuu…**_

* * *

"Grrrr! Stop jumping out of the way!" Number 19 screamed. She was now officially infuriated and was shooting blind in hopes of actually hitting her target. Lucy was smiling but wary, making sure that she kept a good eye on her opponent's movements. Why she was toying with her she didn't know, especially after she had vowed that she never would again. Maybe it was because she didn't like killing her own kind, or maybe it was because she just looked so innocent, and after the incident with Kouta's family, she didn't like to hurt young children…

No, it was all a lie…

She was _enjoying _it.

'_You have to end it now…the longer you spend out here, the more likely it is that Kouta will come looking!'_

Her smile disappeared…she had to finish this now.

Suddenly, Lucy's vectors flew at the side of the young girls head, grabbing a hold of both her horns and ripping them clear off her skull. She screeched in pain, blood pouring down her face as she collapsed, eyes rolling into the back of her head, leaving white pools of nothing in her sockets. She was weakened and stunned, but far from dead. Hopefully, it wouldn't have to come to that.

As the field initially cleared, Lucy's surroundings came into view…and it wasn't exactly what she wanted to see. Standing there, up against the wall was…

"Kouta…" _'No! What the **hell **are you doing here?'_

Without even thinking she ran towards him, hoping that nothing would harm him within the eight valuable seconds required to reach him.

"Stop right there!" An all too familiar voice bellowed in the distance.

She froze in her pursuit, following the voices' orders. Slowly she turned to face the original spot where the voice had alleged from. She gritted her teeth in fury when she saw who it was…she'd completely forgotten during the fight that he was here.

"I need you alive Lucy," Kakazawa announced, his projection overly confident. He raised the gun in his hand to the range of her head, a wicked smirk adorning his features. "And I will use whatever means necessary to get what I want."

"Don't you touch her!" Another voice threatened, causing Lucy to wince when she heard it; not because it scared her, but because it meant that Kouta's chance of surviving this whole ordeal just decreased by at least ninety percent.

The grey-haired man only chuckled under his breath. "Stay out of this boy!" He warned, not taking his eyes of Lucy. "It's the girl I want, not you. But if you try and get in the way, don't think that I won't hesitate to take you out as well."

Kouta persisted.

"Well that's too bad," His voice was shaky, struggling to hold any kind of assurance or intimidation whatsoever. "…Because _I _want her too."

The head of the facility had to look at him now, just to know if he was serious about his declaration or not. And judging by the look of pure determination on his face, he apparently was.

He had to give the boy some credit.

"That's very noble of you," he said in a rather condescending tone, keeping an eye on his red-haired target. "But what in your right mind makes you think that I would give her up so easily to someone like you?"

Kouta raised the machine gun in his arms with a groan of effort—it was incredibly heavy.

"I'll kill you if you don't." _'I won't let anything else hurt her anymore—I promised.'_

"Kouta! No!"

But this threat hadn't held the kind of impact that Kouta had wanted. Instead, he merely laughed. "You're going to kill _me_?"

The raven haired man swallowed hard; trying to stop himself from hyperventilating…he couldn't let this guy see how scared he really was.

"Yes. If you try and hurt Nyuu I will."

"Well let's put that to the test shall we?"

Kakazawa loaded the gun, ready to shoot. So did Kouta.

Two guns fired.

Lucy had already summoned her vectors, ready to protect her body from the ripping speed of the bullet. But she soon found out that Kakazawa had used a fifty caliber rifle—the ones that were specially made to pierce through a diclonius' invisible shields. Whilst her arms did slow it down, they didn't stop it from making it's mark—tearing through her skin and embedding itself in the centre of her shoulder near her collarbone.

The pain was enormous; forcing her to fall to her knees. She immediately called a hand to the wound, only to find that when she inspected it, it was drenched in her own blood. She heard someone else collapse as well, and although she couldn't see, she was sure it was Kakazawa. After all, they were the only two with weapons, right? That meant that Kouta was safe…

At least, for now.

This was bound to happen, and it was all her fault. She shouldn't even be alive right now—that she knew. It was her fault that Kouta was caught up in this mess and as long as she continued to live he would always be in danger.

She should have died that night she tried to say goodbye.

As the sand settled, through her blurry vision, she was soon able to survey her surroundings…

Her eyes widened in utter horror. If she had the energy to do so, she might have screamed, but her attempt at doing so only came out as a raspy, pathetic squeak.

"Kouta…**no**…"

Kakazawa was still standing…

Kouta was the one who had collapsed…

And standing above Kouta's limp body up on the road was none other then…

Bando.

Yes. These truly were destiny's consequences for staying alive this long…this was the price she had to pay: _'For my kind to live Kouta, you're going to have to die.'_

She had told him that just before she left…And she despised herself for it.

She wished at that moment nothing more then to have died when she should have…and she would…soon. The majority of her blood was already staining the sand.

But Kouta would die too…

'_No…Kouta! You can't…you can't die! I'm so sorry!'_

'_Truly…I'm sorry. _

'_Kouta…I love you…'_

* * *

**A/N: **And…-drum roll- finished! Phew! So what did everyone think? Bet you didn't see that coming! I know I lied in my profile for those of you who have read it. This isn't the last chapter. I decided to cut if off here because the next part just didn't seem to join very well. That means that the last chapter is half done and I just have to figure out how to make to sound better at the beginning and stuff. It'll be up by the end of the week. So I hope you guys like this!

_**Please Review!**_

Warui-Usagi


	11. An Eternity of Memories

**Always There: Chapter 11**

**An Eternity of Memories **

"This is ridiculous!" Yuka exclaimed suddenly, obviously impatient, "how long does it take to buy breakfast? Certainly not 4 hours!" She had curled herself up just outside the entrance, waiting with controlled anxiety for Kouta's return. That apprehension was now slowly becoming anger and suspicion. Something was going on—that much was obvious, and she was positive that Nana knew what it was. The naïve diclonius was indeed a horrible liar. Just the fact that she had been skillfully avoiding Yuka this entire time had not escaped her notice—she couldn't have been more conspicuous.

"I'm sure he's just caught up somewhere," Maiyu assured her, placing another cup of green tea and a few biscuits in front of her adoptive mother. Yuka only hung her head, depressed. She knew him better then that. He _never _got caught up if he could help it.

'_He's probably off daydreaming about his precious Nyuu…he couldn't care less about me…'_

That thought alone was enough to draw tears to the brunette's eyes. She quickly looked away, hoping that Maiyu didn't see. "Hey…uh, Maiyu? Is Nyuu up yet?" She asked in the steadiest voice she was capable of conjuring upwith all things considered. Which, to say the very least wasn't very stable…just like she was with all affairs concerning Kouta.

Maiyu, whilst worried about Yuka, yet noticing that she had no intention of saying anything about what was upsetting her, decided it was best to simply humor the girl in her quest for a distraction. "Uh…I'll go and check." She said cautiously, rising from her place at the table to head for the stairs. But Nana appeared suddenly in front of her, surprising her for an instant.

"Uh…I was just up there Maiyu," the horned girl started uneasily, all too aware of Yuka's eyes boring into her from out of the corner of her eye. "She's still asleep. She must have been up all last night if she's sleeping in late like this." Nana laughed nervously, watching the puzzled expression on her 'sister's' face with concealed trepidation. Hopefully, she'd drop it and wouldn't ask questions…and she did drop it…

But Yuka didn't.

"Well, I'm going up stairs to wake her up. Sleeping in like this isn't good for a person's health." With tamed ferocity, she made her way over to the stair case, ignoring Nana's attempts to stop her. If she didn't do something soon, Yuka was going to find out that Nyuu wasn't in her bedroom at all and probably go after him when she realized that she'd be with Kouta. But if she did that…he'd never forgive her if something happened to his cousin…

She had promised him. It was for her own good. She had been trying to ignore the fact that she could barely feel Lucy's heartbeat echo in-between her ears. It had grown faint; weaker then a whisper. If she was dying, what about Kouta? Was he okay? Was he even with her?

'_No. My job is to protect **Yuka**_ _not Kouta. I can only hope that Lucy is doing his job…this family is the last remaining happiness I have. If he were to die…this entire family would crumble and I'd be left with no one, just like before…'_

"Kouta…" she mumbled with strain, struggling to keep her thoughts positive. She summoned her vectors, convinced that there was no other way to prevent Yuka from harm. She grabbed her, pulling her back down onto the landing.

"Wh…What's-ha-happening…!" She screamed in panic, but Nana ignored her.

"I'm sorry Yuka. Kouta asked me to protect you, and that's what I'll do."

"B-but how…what…where is he? Nana! Tell me what the hell is going on! Where's Nyuu?"

'_Come home safe…please…for all our sakes.'_

* * *

If he didn't know any better, he'd swear this was hell.

His entire body was burning, burning with an unknown, yet unrelenting pain. He couldn't move, couldn't think…the only thing that seemed to serve as an indicator that he was still alive was the hint of blue that he managed to capture now and then through his pinched eyelids. He was obviously shot, that much was certain. But by whom was a concept that eluded him completely. Not that he had the mental capacity or the concentration required to even ponder such things at the moment. The agonizing fire that was ripping through his entire body had him wishing for death as it was.

Maybe…if that person who had shot him had any compassion or conscience whatsoever would see that he was still alive and finish the job quickly enough so he would no longer feel anything…at least Nyuu was safe.

Or so he hoped.

'_Nyuu…'_

That's when he remembered. He remembered her.

"_You don't know how to eat rice balls?" He asked, astonished at first, but at seeing the all too honest expression of innocence on her face, he decided that she probably didn't know how to do anything. "You hold them like this." He held out his hand so that she could see, but instead she leaned over, ready to take a mouthful instead. He gave up then._

"_You're hopeless," he muttered, watching while she seemed to enjoy the taste immensely. It was hard to be annoyed with her when she was so cute. "Here, you've got it all over your face." He whipped away the few small grains off her then, unusually pale cheeks. She laughed. He smiled._

…

"_Water…do you think you can bring me a glass of water?" She looked determined enough, but Kouta still remained skeptical. For a start, she didn't even have any pants on. She nodded, and disappeared out the door and down the hallway. He let his head fall back onto his pillow as he listened to her soft footsteps drown out and then come back into earshot seconds later. He opened his eyes when he heard her come in._

_She had a slipper. _

_Perhaps he should've been annoyed… or even angry…but he only grinned, stifling a giggle. "Thank-you for trying."_

…

"_Don't cry Kouta…please don't cry…"_

"_I forgive you, Kanae forgives you! Don't be sad, don't cry!"_

"_Kouta…cuddle…cuddle…Kouta!"_

"_I've fought armies just to have this chance, but now…there's nothing that I can say that will ever be good enough."_

"_You really don't remember? I have no right…I have no right to be with you."_

"_I just thought it was a pretty song, that's all…"_

"_Kouta…"_

'_Nyuu…'_

Hopefully, by allowing her to live, he would be keeping his promise he made that day on the beach, drenched in the orange light of the setting sun—she'd finally be happy. As much as he wanted to be with her in her joy, he was content with knowing that she would be okay, and eventually lead a life that would be considered as close to 'normal' as _humanely _possible.

"N-Nyuu…" speaking was impossible, so he tried moving instead. It was a vain attempt. The second he did, a fresh wave of pain shot through his limbs. He couldn't help but scream. His hand was now resting in something damp; something pudding around his body. If he wasn't so disoriented, he would've realized straight away that he was lying in his own blood. He smiled when he saw his blood-stained hand; it was the perfect likeliness of her. It was kind of ironic he noted— that the girl that he was obsessed with was coursing through his very veins. No wonder he couldn't stop thinking about her. He would have laughed had he been in a better condition.

He remembered Maiyu; her sweet temperament that brought instant happiness into the house no matter how dark it was. Nana and her impossible naivety that made her both incredibly sweet and willing despite the horrendous life she had before. Her love for food and her bravery at protecting those she cared for. They both had to face experiences in their life that no child should ever have had to face, yet; somehow, they came out virtually unscathed.

He's conscience was slowly fading away…the pain would be over soon, and then he would get right onto his self-appointed task of watching over her and his misfit family. Yuka wasn't going to be happy, he thought. There was something important today, that he just couldn't remember. Boy, she'd never forgive him for forgetting. He could no longer open his eyes, although he had no intention of trying to fight it. Death was a welcome relief from this. Bleeding to death in the sand wasn't exactly how he imagined himself to be leaving this world.

It was with her; his Nyuu…the troubled girl he had known for a lifetime and more.

He'd miss their laughter, their innocence…everything that symboled home for him…he had no choice but to say goodbye to it all.

With one last, strangled breath, he gave in…the last image that floated before his eyes, that of the day he found her, here, on the beach. The exact place where he was to die. It was comforting for some reason…the place where he found peace all those months ago, was to be the place were he'd rest in peace as well.

'_I love that little girl I met in the forest all those years ago…and I love Nyuu too. She's unlike any girl I've ever met.'_

'_I love you…'_

* * *

"You **bastard**!" Lucy's pain had been lost to her rage…she was lost in the haze and the fact that she couldn't see only made her angrier. Until she saw him, she'd never be able calm down. She ran, fast; almost as if the bullet embedded in her right shoulder was no burden at all…as if she'd never been shot. Her now burning crimson eyes were set on the man above the ledge. The man who had **_tried _**to take Kouta's life. He wasn't dead; she wouldn't allow him to be.

Once she reached the barrier of concrete, she threw her arms down onto the ground with such force that she flew into the air. Not wasting any time, she immediately let her vectors fly at Bando's head, ready to slice it right of his neck. But he fired first, missing her narrowly, but piercing through one of her vectors, sending her off balance. Her invisible hands missed their mark and instead she landed on the sidewalk behind him, almost falling over in the process. He readied another load but she was quicker this time; Using one of her transparent limbs to crush his gun like a piece of worthless paper whilst another grabbed him mercilessly by the throat and hoisted him into the air…suffocating…choking the life from his very body.

She grinned. "So how does it feel, hmmm? To have done to you exactly what you did to _him_!" Her vectors held him over the retaining wall, forcing him to look down at Kouta's corpse. She saw it too and realized that she could play around like she usually liked to with her prey…she didn't have the time.

"Now you'll know just how he feels! In fact, I think you'll be a lot worse off." She declared, before raising the arm with him in its grasp above her head, sending him throttling down towards the sand as he screamed, utterly terrified. She'd be lying if she said she wasn't enjoying the sound.

Soon enough she heard the almost deafening crack and explosion of sand that ensured the impact. Once the sand cleared, his body was left maimed and lifeless in a giant crater, almost the size of the helicopter on the other side of the beach.

Without even a glance of pity at her now harmless predator, she again threw herself into the air, flying towards the aircraft and the man in charge of it. The blades were already spinning. In the heat of her previous fight with Bando, she hadn't noticed the coward trying to escape. By the time she reached it, it was already airborne, turning towards the east, sand whipping around her in a furious tornado. But she had no intention of letting him escape this time. She managed to grab one of the landing bars with her ghostly limbs, pulling it back down to the ground, expending all her energy to keep it in place whilst her other hands got to work on disassembling it.

They got to work in no time at all, pushing the sides of it together with little effort, crushing everything inside. She heard the brief sounds of someone yelling and running, trying to escape. That made her pleased…she quickly closed it in, enough so that he couldn't get out, but was still alive.

And then she stopped.

He listened.

"I'm not going to kill you," she started, speaking loudly enough for him to hear. "But I can assure you that you **_will _**die; a slow, painful and lonely death. That will be your penance for killing so many of my own kind in the same way."

She was surprised when he heard him laugh, but wasn't agitated enough to ask why.

"And you're an **_angel_** are you?" He asked in a mocking tone. "Have you forgotten what _**you** _are? Have you forgotten how many lives **_you've_** taken? How much blood has spilt on this god forsaken planet because of **_your _**kind?And you're calling me a killer. I was simply eradicating a problem…a pest…a threat to the livelihood of humankind." His voice was muffled, but proud as it made its way through the thick steel encasing his body. If he was afraid of dying, he was showing no signs of it.

"We're human, despite what you may think," she spoke softly, convincing herself more then Kakazawa. "I have proof enough of that in my existence…and you had no right to take that from me! You had no right to take it from any of us. We wouldn't be killers had you not tortured us…if you just left us alone. We just wanted someone to care!"

"How could anyone care about monsters like _you_ when all you do is destroy? All humans will die if you live. If you do care, you'll do the world a favor and do away with yourself!" He countered, confident in his conviction.

She smiled. "You're right," she said simply. "I don't care…about **you**" And with that last comment, she tossed the tangled wreck right out into the ocean and watched it sink—satisfied with the knowledge that he would do no harm to anyone anymore; diclonius and human alike. And when the realization came that there was no longer a threat, the pain returned as the adrenaline in her veins slowed, releasing her body from its glorious affects.

She fell to her knees in sudden agony, watching the world around her blur. She looked down at the clothes she'd been wearing; soaked in her own blood. That must have been why Kakazawa laughed—he knew she was going to die…and there was nothing she could do to stop it. She fell onto the soft, golden grains beneath her, rolling onto her back and looking up at the sky. She tried to get up, but once again found that it was impossible.

She couldn't remember feeling this regretful. First Kouta's family, and now Kouta himself. She should have known…this was the price she paid for staying alive when she should have died that night she tried to say goodbye. It really should have been her corpse rotting in the sand, not his. He was human, he had a life—a family that needed him. And all she was doing was holding onto an unattainable dream that could never exist…never happen as long as she lived.

This was her penalty for being the selfish creature that she was…and it was worse then being killed herself. She tried to seek his form through the blurred, dull vision of her eyes, but nothing came. She jerked her head north, hoping to find him anywhere…she was anxious, panicking. Maybe if she could find him, he'd forgive her…tell her that everything would be okay, and that he wasn't angry. She couldn't find him, her eyes abruptly fluttering closed despite all the effort she used to keep them open.

Something caught her eye as they dashed around in her skull; and then she saw him—a faint, motionless figure…far away…it was dark, and he seemed to be drifting. Drifting away into the shadows, away from her, leaving her to die alone on the suddenly frozen sad underneath her body.

"K-Kouta…"

'_I'm sorry…so sorry. Please…forgive me. I was too selfish to leave you…to save you. Now you have to pay the price for my sins. I'm sorry.'_

'_Don't cry.'_

Just like that the tears stopped, her chest ceased to move with the rhythm of her breathing and her eyes dulled; still open.

And somewhere far off in the distance, a thousand miles away, she could hear a little boy crying…

* * *

When the girl came to, she was faintly aware of the smell of grass…of trees and flowers—a thick scent full of moisture. The sent of a rainforest that brought on a strong sense of nostalgia, but her brain was too weak to make the connection just yet. A cold, icy prick on her forehead made her eyes cringe at the sudden shiver that ran through her body. That was followed seconds later by thousands more and she suddenly sprang upright, her eyes open and alert.

She was in a clearing; the thick, dark green vegetation forming a barrier around the small patch of dirt and leaves she was currently in. It began to rain heavily then, the drenching praline-land rain soaking the forest floor and its current occupant along with it. Her bright, exuberant crimson eyes assessed the gray sky with an unknown source of happiness. Why this weather made her happy she had no idea, but she smiled anyway, enjoying the feeling of the cool liquid running down her cheeks.

'_Why do I feel like I know this place?'_

It was a surprise to her that she didn't seem to feel the cold; her simple white blouse and red pleated skirt were saturated, gluing the thin fabric to her pale, alabaster skin underneath. In theory she should have been freezing, but not even her breath indicated any indication of the current temperature. She decided to move; knowing that sitting here all day wouldn't make any progress—even if she didn't know exactly was she was looking for.

Pushing the trees aside, she made her way through the walls of trunks and branches, falling and slipping every now and then because the rain had made the jagged rocks slippery. She didn't know how long she followed her own self-directed track, but she felt compelled to keep going, to keep searching. Time was lost to her as she hiked; the rain never stopping, her legs never tiring.

It was sometime later when she first heard the sound. At first, she had thought that it was just an animal of some sort, growling or calling for another of its kind. But as she kept on walking, the noise became clearer, and she soon realized that it was…someone…or something…and they sounded very sad. For some reason, the sound made her upset too whist tugging once again at the dusty strings of an old memory that refused to re-surface. She kept moving, the sound becoming sharper, the crying louder, making her almost want to cry herself. She made a sprint for the end of the trees then, when they came into plain sight, knowing all too well by now that that's where the noise was originating from.

The anguished cries were calling her, and she felt compelled to answer them.

With a sudden and careless brush of the scrubs, she jumped out of the forest and out onto a narrow path, leading past a huge, graceful camphor tree and up a steep slope. Under the old protective branches, her eyes fell upon a young boy; his raven hair glistening with the shine of the rain. He was sitting alone, in a fetal position. His face was hidden from view as it laid carefully concealed in-between his legs. He was crying, and beside him sat an old, battered looking wooden box with an engraved gold plaque.

'_He looks so familiar…'_

This time, her mind was pushing almost painfully against the retrains of her memory. Fighting to remember why she knew everything, yet knew nothing. It was irritating her, almost as if whenever she forced herself against the impenetrable barrier she was rebounded back, denied the information she craved so badly.

She gave up after a few tries and decided to try talking to the boy instead. Maybe he knew where she was.

"Uh…h-hello," she said. "My name is Lucy and I…I'm a little lost. Can you help me?"

"No," The boy sobbed, "I'm busy…I…I've lost someone and I…I can't find them anywhere!"

"Oh," she considered that for a moment whist removing a waterlogged lock of her flaming red hair from her eyes. "Well, uh…what's there name? Maybe I can help?"

"I can't remember," he whispered, sniffling slightly. "I don't even remember what they look like."

"That's too bad," She waited a moment before continuing, listening to the sound of the rain, suddenly engrossed by the mud she was squishing in-between her toes. "Hey, what's your name?"

"Kouta." He replied, eyeing her cautiously.

And at the mention of his name, something broke through the hazy barrier in her mind…a memory…

_She wouldn't for the life of her allow her arms to budge for an instant. They were locked tightly around a young mans neck, refusing to let go. She was crying with an unfathomable sadness that she couldn't understand, an inner voice speaking in her mind, "How can you give so much to me so selflessly, when I've taken away from you the only thing you've ever loved?" But instead of voicing that inner thought, she'd opted for the simplest way to explain how she truly felt. _

"_Kouta…you're so nice…you're so nice…Kouta!"_

"Hello?"

Her eyes snapped shut then; the warm content feeling she held onto a moment ago slipping back into her mind, chained away for further deliberation later. Right now, she had a boy staring at her as if she was on drugs. She blushed when he didn't look away, feeling the heat rise in her cheeks. He smiled ruefully when he saw her response, doing his best to feign ignorance when he realized that perhaps he had been looking too long. But, she just seemed so…familiar…

'_Her eyes…her hair…they're not…normal. It's so cool!'_

"Do you think…that it's possible…" now he was blushing, and Lucy couldn't fathom why. "Do you think that it's possible that maybe…" he was struggling, that much was obvious, so she decided to help.

"Possible that what?"

He sighed shakily. "That perhaps it's _you _I'm looking for?"

She was honestly shocked. "What makes you say that? I don't even know you."

He grew solemn then, as if recalling a very difficult time in his life. "There was a voice…a man's voice. It was odd; I knew that I'd heard it before, almost as if I'd spoken those words myself."

For some inexplicable reason, she was instantly curious. "What did he say?" She took a step closer, waiting patiently for his reply.

"He said: _'Find her…take her home…make her happy. Just like you promised.'_" He waited to gauge in her reaction, and was surprised when she began to consider it. "But why _me_?" She asked incredulously, again lost to the reason as to why she even bothering with asking. Then she remembered the man from her flashback and wondered if that's why she was doing this.

"I don't know, but I think it's you. I like you already and so far I've only known you for a couple of minutes. I've been on my own here a short while, and was wondering why nobody else was around. So ummm…do you wanna see the house?"

This caught her completely off guard. "W-what?"

He had misinterpreted her uneasiness for genuine interest. "Well, I've been staying there for awhile, alone…seeing as nobody else seems to be in this forest. It's very nice. It's old and traditional, but it's big with at least 10 rooms. It has a really beautiful garden. And this really cool old grandfather clock…"

He eyes widened at his words, diverting themselves from his face and incongruously re-focusing on the small wooden cube at his feet.

"What is that?" She asked, pointing at it to make it blatantly obvious to him what she was interested in. He looked away, confused for a brief moment, taking a minute to acknowledge the object of her inquisitiveness.

"A music box." He replied simply. "It's my favorite song."

"Really?" That didn't surprise her as much as it should've. Again, just with everything else in this stupid world, it was playing havoc with her sense of déjà vu. She hated it. It was so distracting and irritating! Why couldn't she just remember!

"Do you want to listen?" He offered picking it of the ground. It had been pouring, yet the wood seemed pervious to the water's affects…it was almost dry.

"It looks beautiful," she noted, running a palm along its smooth exterior. "Where did you get it?"

He laughed. "I honestly don't know," he admitted quietly, looking longingly at the plaque's engraved letters on the top. "I woke up with it next to me. For some reason, I just knew that I loved it."

"Lillium…"

He opened it without another moment of delay, twisting the delicate handle on the side to wind up the old tune…

…and then the melody began to play.

At first, she just noticed at what a melancholy, lonely and heart-wrenching tone was echoing within the narrow confides of the wood, but with the beginning of the second round, images began to dance impossibly fast in front of her eyes—almost as if, the moment he'd lifted that lid, the fogginess clouding her memories was dissolved. They battered at her mind relentlessly, pounding everything into her head so quickly that she thought she was going to explode.

She now knew him…his face, his voice…his actions…

And what she'd done to him all those years ago as a _payment _for being such a _wonderful _friend.

'_What are you talking about? We're friends…that's why I didn't kill you. Now, for that stupid girl…'_

That was probably one of the few things she could've easily forgotten.

She remembered Yuka, Nana and Maiyu…even Wanta. She remembered home.

She recalled fighting on the beach, to save Kouta's life…and her own. Obviously fighting for both in vain it seemed…and as illogical and impossible as it seemed, that was when the truth finally hit her—bet before she could even voice her words, the frames of her life disappeared as the box closed, all traces of the young boy Kouta had vanished and she was left alone once again in the rain…

A whispered note…somewhere…played then, the same notes from the momentous box rang softly on each raindrop that fell at her feet, slowly drifting up the pathway, past the ancient camphor tree and up the steep ledge. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted a boy with black hair, a nostalgic green shirt and red trousers, his identity instantly dawning on her.

"Kouta, wait!" She cried, but he only disappeared around the corner. She ran after him through the slippery mud and rain, tearing around the sharp bend, expecting to see his face. She could faintly hear him hum the tune to his music box as he ran, using the noise as a tool to guide her on this wild goose chase. He always managed to stay just out of sight, and she soon realized that that was exactly what he must have intended. He kept her just out of reach, teasing her with the song that symbolized their brief moments of happiness together when they were children.

It was enough, soon she happened upon a set of stone stairs leading all the way up a hill…she'd been up these so many times she would have to have been crazy not to see what they belonged to.

And sure enough, there it was…the front entrance to the Kaida House. Her home watching over the small ocean community of Kamakura…

"_I love coming up here and looking at the view," he said distracted, watching the oranges, pinks, purples and blues of the sunset afternoon slowly vanishing behind the mountains._

"_Thanks. I had a great time today." She spoke in a hushed, strained tone. He was leaving soon—in exactly two days…gone for a whole year before she could see him again. She'd promised herself that she wouldn't cry because he wasn't leaving just yet, but the salty liquid sprang to the corners of her ruby eyes regardless._

"_It was my pleasure," he admitted honestly. "I enjoyed it too."_

'This is the part where he walks away,_' she thought, every cell in her body crying out in anticipation. He must have sensed her helplessness at his side, because albeit softly, he began to hum their song. Each note drifting happily off his lips despite the melancholic nature of its origin. She cheered up then, truly believing that she would see him again…she just had to wait._

"_Goodbye." He said, turning on his heal to wave before disappearing down the steps. She still stared after him when he was gone…_

The front gate opened easily enough…

She followed the path through to the front of the house, taking note of all the familiar gardens that surrounded the old Japanese restaurant. She slowed upon coming to the door inside, realizing that it was wide open like it always was— 5 bowls splayed neatly on the small table where they always ate, garnished with chopsticks resting on the rim. The cushions had been placed on the faded green tatami rather fashionably, almost as if Yuka were here with her ever anal 'spotlessly clean' habits.

But she couldn't be here could she?…not unless…

"You're finally home," someone whispered, genuinely pleased.

She looked up to the doorway, a small, sad smile gracing her lips as she watched him.

"I'm sorry."

He looked unnaturally surprised. "What for?"

Tears once again sprang to her eyes, trailing down her cheeks at the memory of it all. "For not saving you."

"Nyuu…"

"I tried…but then afterwards I was so tired and I just…" She threw her head into her hands, still standing at the bottom of the stairs; a sobbing 10 year old girl, scared with the evil in her life.

"It's okay," he soothed, pacing across the large sunlit room to the edge of straw mats beneath his feet. "There was nothing you could've done. Besides, what's passed is past."

"But," she started to protest before curtly being interrupted.

"Just come up here," he encouraged softly, stretching an arm out to her. "As cute as you were when you were little, I still prefer your old self." She took the gesture willingly, never taking her eyes of his face as he helped her up the small incline. As soon as she passed the threshold, she was no longer the depressed, lonely little girl she had once been, but was instead her usual older self.

He embraced her then, placing a loose hand on the back of her head whilst the other draped carefully around her shoulders. "You did everything you could," he said this time in a much more serious tone. "And I'm grateful for that."

"Does that mean… that we really did…" she left the sentence hanging, but she didn't need to finish it for him to know what she meant.

"What does it matter?" He contradicted, pulling away slightly to look at her face. "We now have eternity. Isn't that enough?"

"I suppose," was all she could say, before resting lightly against his chest once more. He laughed softly, stroking her hair in a comfortable silence. "What do we do now?"

"We wait," he said. "For the rest of our family."

"When do you think they'll come?"

"In their own time," he replied simply, giving her a quick peck on the cheek.

And once again, he was off, humming the same tune he always did, inches from her ear. Lucy closed her eyes, finally and wholly content with her existence. It was a wonderful release that she thought she'd never get to experience because of what she was. Only now, in his arms did she truly believe what he'd been trying to tell her all along…

It wasn't her fault. Now, with that in mind, she wanted nothing more then to say thank-you…he'd been with her through the whole thing; he'd stuck by her side until he was finally able to make her understand what he meant. In the end, this was all that mattered: For now and all of eternity…

He was **_always there_**.

* * *

A/N: _DONE! Wow…that's what I call a long chapter. Phew. So what did you guys think? I worked my ass of on this one for three night's straight, staying up until 1am in the morning. You'd better like it! I know that I promised not to kill Lucy, but you'll see that although I did, I really didn't if that makes any sense. It's a bit of a philosophical ending, I know, but I just thought that, after everything she's been through, Lucy deserves some peace…and as long as she was alive, she wasn't going to get it. _

_I killed Kouta too, but they're both happy now so who cares? _

_I would now just like to thank every one of my reviewers. This story would not have been a success without you and hopefully for you guys, you enjoyed this ending. I read every single one you guys sent me, and their combined strength of encouragement kept me updating this story. I know that there are a number of you who never reviewed, but obviously enjoyed my story anyway, seeing as you had me on your favorites list:P I want to thank you guys too, for simply enjoying it. The fact that I was able to accomplish that feat alone was enough to make me happy._

_I truly enjoyed writing this story, and I promise my next one will be out in a week! It's based on an idea presented on the forums, and it'll take on a completely different perspective of the Elfen Lied universe. It explores the possibility that if given different circumstances and outcomes, (i.e. Lucy killing a character other then Kanae and Kouta's father) how much would that alter the characters development throughout the story?_

_Here's a sneak preview:_

**Title: **The Butterfly Effect

**Rating: **T

**Pairing: **Lucy and Kouta (eventually of course)

**Category: **Drama/Fantasy

**Summary: **A human being cannot completely erase their mistakes; merely alter the circumstances and hope for a better outcome. But does 'better' even exist? If it does, it surely won't come without its price…

_I hope you all enjoyed this story and stay tuned for the next!_

_Warui -Usagi_


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